How Public Libraries Help Build Healthy Communities
Brookings Blog-Up Front: 3.30.2017 by Marcela Cabello and Stuart
M Butler
They
say you can’t judge a book by its cover. Increasingly in the United States, you
also can’t judge a library’s value to its community by simply its books. Let us
explain.
In
a previous blog post, we’ve noted the importance of “third places” in
strengthening communities – meaning those places that are neither one’s home
(first place) nor workspace (second place). A range of such third places, from
churches to beauty salons, play an important role in community building. They
are the informal spaces that are often mainstays in a neighborhood, places
where both random and intentional in-person relationships are made.
Several
things are necessary for a particular place to play this role. Location and
accessibility are important, of course. But so are trust and a sense of
neutrality; they are usually the keys to success, whether the place is a house
of worship, a family-owned diner, or a barbershop.
As
the earlier piece explained, public spaces and buildings can become important
and successful third places. And one particularly interesting, emerging and
important example is the public library.
Public
libraries exist in urban, suburban, and rural neighborhoods, and typically they
have a long history in their community. According to a 2015 Pew survey, almost two-thirds of adult Americans
say that closing their local library would have a major impact on their
community. As Pew found, over 90 percent of adults think of
public libraries as “welcoming and friendly places,” and about half have
visited or otherwise used a public library in the last 12 months.
Reimagining
the Librarian
A
reason public libraries are seen as such important third-place institutions is
that they and their librarians have gradually taken on other functions well
beyond lending out books. In many communities, librarians are also ad hoc
social workers and navigators. They help local people figure out the
complexities of life, from navigating the health system to helping those with housing
needs. This “go-to” role has influenced library programming and events, with
libraries providing advice and connections to health, housing, literacy, and
other areas.
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