In its Declaration for the Right to Libraries, the American Library Association lists several ways that libraries change people’s lives. Among them are statements that “Libraries empower the individual” (ALA, 2013, p. 16), and that “Libraries support literacy and lifelong learning” (ibid).
One of the areas in which the library enriches me is in the realm of lifelong learning. This, in turn, has led toward my empowerment as an individual.
Whenever I’ve had a question about a concept or skill, or even about who I am as a person or how I interact with other people, I’ve frequently turned to my local library.
In our textbook for LIS 5804, authors Kathleen de la Peña McCook and Jenny S. Bossaller describe the public library as its heart, its anchor, and its safe place (2018).
The collection that a library builds in response to the needs of its community, allows me to explore ideas and concepts I need to develop as an individual. It provides me the room and the privacy in which to explore these ideas.
The library introduces me to the stories of people who are similar to me, perhaps people who seek to make sense of the same challenges I am, or perhaps people who are further along in their understanding of themselves and the world.
The library also encourages me to develop empathy through reading stories about people who may seem different at first, but whose lives and struggles may encompass similar or even “universal” themes.
References:
American Library Association. (2013). Declaration for the right to libraries. In K. McCook’s and J.S. Bossaller’s Introduction to public librarianship [3rd ed.], Neal-Schuman.
McCook, K. & Bossaller, J.S. (2018). Introduction to public librarianship (3rd ed.) Neal-Schuman.
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