Welcome to Eureka Street

back to site

AUSTRALIA

Libraries adapt to the age of free information

  • 06 July 2017

 

There's something beautiful about the fact that any person can go into a library and borrow a book that could change their life. That even though classic literature can feel out of reach, it is only ever a library card away.

But with the internet and ebooks, the free information that made a library unique is no longer exclusive. Classic literature can be found with a Google search and read on sites like Project Gutenberg.

So what do brick and mortar libraries offer that Amazon can't? It's a discussion that's been going on for a while in the UK, where public libraries are increasingly being shut down, and one we continue to have here in Australia.

I often visit my local library. I tend to go in the after-school hours, so there are children everywhere. In the children's section I can see mothers guiding young, chubby hands across picture book pages. I think of Mem Fox's advice about how children should hear a thousand stories before learning to read.

Almost every computer is in use and there are signs up inviting me to use the library wifi. A man sets up a game in the newly installed XBox gaming area. At the desks to the back, people crouch over laptops plugged into the wall. People chat together and flick through magazines on the couches.

There are flyers about learning basic computer skills, myGov and 3D printing, author talks and improving your resumé. Endless posters on the walls advertise children's programs and book clubs.

It's tempting to dismiss libraries as relics, defunct in the face of the internet and worthy only of nostalgic reflection, but that's not reflective of what libraries are today. They have adapted with the times.

In my library, there was once only a handful of computers, but now there are rows of them as well as a space for video games. And while a few years ago there were few comics and magazines, there are now large sections for both. To think of libraries as static is to misunderstand what they are. Libraries are not just repositories for media, but purpose built to suit the needs of the community.

 

"Libraries will always be about accessing books and information, but they are flexible entities. Libraries are as much cultural hubs as they are quiet spaces to read."

 

For parents stuck on places to go with their child on the holidays and weekends, public libraries host children-focused events. With

Join the conversation. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter  Subscribe