The thing about public libraries...

I love working in an academic setting. I enjoy assisting students in finding information. I enjoy the more serious nature of requests you generally receive at the reference desk. However, I was reminded today of how nice public libraries are.

My first memories of libraries come from the small public library in Brunswick, Missouri - a town with a population of 925 compared with approximately 7,800 in the town I currently live in. It was a tiny library tucked away in a brick building right next to the city hall, but I remember it despite the fact that we moved from Brunswick when I was about six years of age. I remember how wonderful it was to go to the library, look at the books on the shelf, check them out, the delight of so many books on the shelf. I don't know how many hours the library was open each week, nor could I tell you the numbers of the collection, but I can tell you that in spite of the town's extremely small population, the town cared enough to make certain there was a library.

The thing about public libraries is that they have a different collection from academic libraries. An academic library, regardless of how open to community members it is - and many are not - are no replacement for public libraries. Public libraries focus on children's programs, on continuing education for adults who are out of school. They may offer a place for communities to come together for meetings or gatherings. They may offer internet access to those who might not otherwise afford it. They may offer ESL opportunities in communities where a high number of individuals speak other languages. Public libraries too, have an atmosphere that you come to learn what interests you. In an academic library, so often the focus is so narrow and on what someone else wants you to learn. A public library the books intrigue you because you are interested in what they speak about.

I feel sorry for towns without public libraries. I cringe at communities that do not care enough about being lifelong learners to support a public library. I despair at the lack of a place for children to learn to love reading - a place where the books on the shelf are to be read because they want to read them, not because a teacher is demanding it. I may work in an academic library, and I may enjoy it, but when I want to renew my love of books and learning, it's often a public library which will catch my eye.

Long live the public libraries!