As technology and all of its influences on all areas of society seems to be increasing at an ever accelerating rate,we need to stop and reflect just where WE want to go into the future. To me technology is a tool but if we are not careful it could soon turn into a dictator taking us places and changing our lives in directions we might not necessarily want to go.
What I am talking about is an ever-increasing underlying sense that Public libraries and School Libraries will somehow become unnecessary to the Public at large as technology spreads out in to the wider community, through e-book readers i-pads and other devices which are not invented yet!
This attitude has been expressed to me by education executives in leadership in and others in the wider community .
In some schools in NSW last year, Principals were allowed to choose to do away with their teacher-librarian completely to use the money saved to run other programs
But that is another story.
To me this attitude of economics over function and purpose fails in its understanding of what the purpose of libraries are .
Unfortunately trends in this direction are already taking place in the UK. A report on the website for the Guardian newspaper quoted statistics citing 200 closures of Public Libraries in 2012. Although most have been closed by the “bean counters” in government quoting falling numbers in patrons to justify theses closures economics and technology could combine to see a sudden drop in the availability of the most important educational tool for the community at large in our society …The Public Library . Billy Elliot playwright Lee Hall calling on the council to protect the city’s heritage last month.
“Working men and women in the north-east have fought, generation after generation, for the right to read and grow intellectually, culturally and socially – to be as ‘civilised’ as anyone else,” Hall said. “It is a heritage that took decades and decades to come to fruition but will be wiped out in a moment. You are not only about to make Philistines of yourselves, but Philistines of us all.”
Pretty strong words but very necessary. So what are the other important functions of the Public Library and the school library? In one word …Community. These places provide a sense of community.They bring readers together in a quiet enjoyable atmosphere where reading is seen to be valued by all who gather there!
For children libraries provide enjoyable experiences for families with babies ,toddlers and children and help them to develop important early literacy skills and introduce them to the joys of reading.
For older children who are in the process of becoming readers they provide access to all areas of interest from which they can develop their own particular tastes for reading in the areas they want to explore without cost.
For adults they provide to opportunity to read widely without cost.
But there is hope.
The vast majority of parents with children younger than 18 feel libraries are very important for their kids, leading to higher-than-average use of a wide range of library services, a new national report from the Pew Research Center shows. According to “Parents, Children, Libraries, and Reading,” 94 percent of parents feel libraries are important for their kids, with 79 percent describing libraries as “very important.” This is especially true of parents of young children (those under 6), some 84 percent of whom describe libraries as “very important.” Of these parents, 84 percent say a major reason they want their children to have access to libraries is that libraries help inculcate their children’s love of reading and books, while 81 percent say libraries provide their children with information and resources not available at home, and 71 percent say libraries are a safe place for children. Almost every parent (97 percent of those surveyed) says it is important for libraries to offer programs and classes for children and teens.
Education is a life long pursuit these days and if we start to close libraries purely based on cost or technology then our society at large might fulfill a concern of Albert Einstein ……….”I fear the day that Technology will surpass our human interaction”
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