Show your local library some love

Picture this: you walk into your local library branch. Outside, the July sun beats down and the sounds of traffic echo through the streets, but inside those walls it is cool and quiet. You find yourself surrounded by walls of books, the smell of paper thick in the air. Maybe you’re there to look for a book, or to print something out in a digital world that, for many, has made owning your own printer impractical. Whatever the reason, you may be surprised by the other resources that await you there. You may feel the urge to linger in that space, and explore. Today, libraries are one of the few institutions that encourage you to do just that.

When you walk into your local library, there is no expectation that you will spend money. In fact, the expectation is often that you will not. Nobody is rushing you out the door to free up a table for the next customer, or requiring that you purchase an overpriced beverage just so you can get the bathroom code printed at the bottom of your receipt. When the doors to our local libraries are open, we have the freedom to wander or to sit, to socialize and collaborate or to enjoy our own company. They allow us all access to education, stories and resources, regardless of our backgrounds or financial situations. Through these libraries, we can enjoy classes, internet access, films and even after-school programming — all free of charge. But these community institutions are not a resource we should take for granted.

Funding cuts, book bans and other threats have risen against libraries in the United States, especially in recent years. New York City is fortunate to have such a robust system of public libraries, but this does not mean their presence is a fact of life that exists beyond us. Even here, many library branches do not have the resources necessary to provide service seven days a week. Even here, the future of our libraries, and the attention paid to them in city budgeting decisions, depends on our engagement with them.

Libraries do not ask for our money or our labor or for us to offer anything grand in return. All they ask of us is our time. Attending an event, securing a library card, checking out a book or making use of the many resources available at the library helps boost the library’s numbers — numbers that matter the next time discussions about the allocation of resources arise. It shows decisionmakers that there is demand for what libraries have to offer. Of course, you can also look for volunteer opportunities, or chances to advocate for funding and legislation to keep your local library branch healthy. But even the small act of stopping in at the library to check out a summer read on your way home from school or work can make a difference in the community’s future.

In a world that demands so much of us — our attention, our purchases — it is rare to find an oasis that demands so little. Next time you happen to pass by a local New York Public Library branch, take a moment to step inside. Take a look around. You just might want to stay for a while.