I was at my local library just over a week ago to return my copy of Ducks by Kate Beaton and I’ll be back as soon as my hold on Jenny Odell’s Saving Time is ready to pick up. In the mean time, I listened to the audiobook, All Quiet on the Western Front. Six of the eight books that I’ve read this year came from the library. It was 14 out of 22 last year.
As a child I read a lot, and so visiting the library was always exciting. As a young adult I fell away from reading, but when I started again in earnest a few years ago, the library was still there for me.
These days, I use the library digitally more than in person. Libby is a great app for checking out and audiobooks and ebooks with a library card. Kanopy’s video selection isn’t as large as major streaming platforms, but it has some movies that aren’t streaming elsewhere, and a lot of Criterion classics – for free. Even when checking out physical books, I usually place a hold on them online and wait for the email letting me know my book is ready. The library is great, and there are many ways to make use of it.
For the past few months, our local library has been under pressure from local groups in what sounds like echoes of similar moves against intellectual freedom at libraries in the USA. Their most recent aim was the funding of the libraries.
Our libraries provide education, entertainment, and community resources, available to everyone in the community. They’re worth preserving. It’s important that they are allowed to follow the Canadian Federation of Library Associations’ standards.
If you’re local, you can support the South Central Regional Library in a few ways:
- Send a letter of support to the library board or to your town council
- Sign the petition
- Make a donation
