Libraries
have a place in every community. It is a place where people gather for
meetings, exchange ideas, attend events for people of all ages, provides
storage for masses of books, and is dedicated to ensure everyone has access to
new and emerging digital tools. Each day
the library is open a group of students find a place to study after school,
teachers are able to have meetings outside of school campuses, students of all
ages locate books for pleasure reading or a rare history book to complete
research for an assignment. A job seeker is able to research jobs on a computer
and complete online applications. While another locates books on the shelf for
examples of resumes and then proceeds to the computer lab to create one. The
newspaper readers gather each morning together to read the latest news and swap
with someone else once they have finished. Meanwhile children enter in and out
of the Children’s Area with parents and caregivers for daily storytimes in the
morning. At the top of the building, neighbors gather to research the previous
owners of their home and the marks they left upon the community. While in the
center of the building, a constant motion of people talking and books being
returned and checked out happens in the Circulation Area.
This
details a glimpse of the actions of the many people that trek to the
Headquarters library branch in Salisbury each day. Many are community members
that are in need of computer use, free wifi, a meeting space, and an endless
supply of low cost books to finish a home, personal, or school project. As a
building, the library provides a place for people to relax outside of home and
enjoy a place to meet to share ideas and gather knowledge. There are many
resources available for readers of all ages in digital and print formats. Books
and digital subscription databases are constantly purchased or renewed and
library card users are key to shaping the types of materials offered at the
library. The library users are the stronghold for keeping the library
functioning as a community resource that can continue to provide access to the
world by sharing knowledge to all people
in digital and print resources, community events, computer access and digital
tools, and meeting spaces.
Free
and open access to resources provided by the library allows the community to
share ideas and increase appreciation for each other. Relationships are formed
in every second the library is open and helps strengthen the community by being
a facilitator of community users. People using the library’s resources are from
a range of socio-economic backgrounds and continue to show support for the idea
of sharing knowledge and building the community each day they visit, volunteer,
or donate.
Using
the library is critical for adults to model the need for an organization
dedicated to providing free and open access, so local children will grow into
adults and become the leading citizens of our community that recognize the
various ways libraries changes the lives of our community.
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