what if public libraries were open late every night so that:
- children and teens who cant get home until a later time have a safe, warm, well lit, populated area to socialize, charge devices, rest, etc
- children and teens have a safe place to go to stay away from danger
- people who have jobs that take up most of the day would still have time ANY DAY OF THE WEEK to go use the libraries facilities (printing, computers, etc)
!!!!
What if public libraries were properly funded to meet the changing needs of the public including extended hours? Haha…. Just kidding….. Unless?
This ^^^
and i can tell you, as a librarian: we desperately want this. We want to be able to provide that service, that staffing. We might not always say it, because it’s hard to sell it—but if the community gives us those resources, we will do it. I put on a stern face and a firm voice when it’s time to close, because with the hours and budget being what they are, it’s going to be bad for the library if people hang around after closing time—some of our systems don’t even work depending on the hour. But oh gods, do I hate asking people to leave the library.
So, get involved with your local public library. You don’t have to visit every day, or every week.
You can get some intra- or inter-library loans, you can ask about books you want that aren’t in the system, you can inquire about types of programming you’d like to see the library host (and if you have a skill you can teach to others, you can offer to conduct a program yourself).
Find out if there’s a Friends of the Library or similar organization. Get involved in that. Help out with booksales.
More importantly to all of this, you can find out about the parts of your community that have a say in the library. That might just be the local government (visit town council meetings for a while! Listen to things other people are talking about, the issues that concern them, and explain how the library can be a solution when you finally get up to speak!), it might be a library board made up of concerned citizens, it might be administration of a city-wide library system.
Advocate for the library. Advocate for it as a community space. Talk to librarians about what we need, about what people are asking for that we can’t provide—the libraries i work at are constantly getting people coming in asking if we have a public fax, if we have a scanner, if we have a notary.
There will be stumbling blocks. You won’t get the answers you won’t, most likely. But you will be the most important thing: a voice speaking up, saying We Need This In Our Community.
Villagers look on in horror as Vincent van Gogh awakens and begins yet another day of stomping on the French countryside. The 900-foot giant’s rage could only be placated with gifts of art supplies. He was finally defeated by Godzilla and Paul Gauguin’s steam-powered mech suit. (1890, Colorized)
