Libraries are important. If you can’t see how important they are, then you’re blind.

I disagree with anyone who says public libraries are not needed. The only reason that people would say this would be because they are inconsiderate of others. They are unable to recognise people from different economic circumstances.

I will always remember the time when I discovered my own local library. I was walking down Streatham high road when suddenly it started pouring with rain. I was only wearing shorts and a t-shirt! I ran to the nearest building to get under cover; at first it looked like an old museum but when I went inside it turned out to be Streatham library – something that I never knew was there if I’m honest. So, I sat down on a lovely cushion to dry off and I picked up a book. Sitting there, I thought to myself I have lived in my area all these years and I’ve never come across this wonderful place, a place where I can come and read and forget about all my troubles. By the time the rain stopped I was a quarter way through my book, but I found out you could borrow books so I joined up and the rest is history.

Old outdated centres are getting repaired and modernised, and there is more funding for better disabled access, increasing the potential customer base. The refurbishment also means that they can stock more books and have better resources; books such as graphic novels, fiction, non-fiction and newspapers for those who want to be up to date in the world. These serve as community centres for people who like to be social and active, in some cases it can act as the hub for a community. There are so many different functions; libraries can host meetings and educational courses, and it’s a place where parents can bond with their children outside of a home environment.

I can also understand some of the reasons why they’re being closed. As technology moves on, better devices have been developed that have the ability to download books for a small fee or even for free. Some people are put off as they would prefer to buy the book and read at home as they are more comfortable with their surroundings (though they could borrow it from the library…). Lastly, as more people are worried about the environment they would prefer to download a paperless version of a book to save trees. People may also be worried about forgetting to take their book back or even losing it and having to pay fees.

Can you even imagine a life without books? Great novelists have allowed readers to be involved in their lives and imagination through their books. If you were to take books away from the world then you also take away people’s imaginations. People need this escape to get away from reality and reading a story can provide the transport.

I recently read an article written by Terry Deary, the writer of the Horrible Histories books. He said “we’ve got this idea that we’ve got an entitlement to read books for free, at the expense of authors, publishers and council tax payers. This is not the Victorian age, when we wanted to allow the impoverished access to literature. We pay for compulsory schooling to do that”. I feel this was irresponsible and selfish because the main reason people usually write is that they do it because it comes naturally to them and they want to bring joy to people. This is why he could be deemed selfish because he is doing it for benefit of money. Now I know this is only one writer, but it makes me think how many more think like this but are afraid to speak, out and if this is the case then what future is there for literature?

There will always be room for libraries in my heart. If libraries were a part of us they would be our brains – the bank of our knowledge as the pages of the books and information ran through our veins. They would be our creative sides, affecting our decisions. If you take them away you take away our minds. We would not be able to learn and think for ourselves. Actually, thinking about it, we wouldn’t even be alive! What better reason not to take our libraries away. Without our libraries our society has no character, no energy, no life.

 

Terry Deary quote taken from: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/feb/13/libraries-horrible-histories-terry-deary