Ava Miller | Opinion Editor
February 21, 2023
When many people think of libraries, they think of a seldom visited, dying-out establishment housing books they can download on their electronics or order off of amazon, but libraries play a much bigger part in society than just the lending out of books to library card holders.
Arguments surrounding the ending, or downsizing of libraries have created conversation and controversy as a community expense, but what is often overlooked is the important role they play for many people.
In this new age of technology, many operations done by hand or by telephone from taxes to dinner reservations are now only done technologically leaving the older generation in the dust. Many elderly people lacking family support, the money for new technology, or just the general knowledge of computers confine in libraries that provide technology support and offer helpful workshops to aid those that are struggling. Without libraries, technological advancements would discriminate against a whole generation of humans.
Many areas of the United States, specifically lower economic neighborhoods, do not have air conditioning or heat. Libraries provide warmth in the winter and AC in the summer. It may not seem like a big deal, but heat waves pose life-threatening high temperatures, and library buildings provide an escape to many during these dangerous temperatures. Tessa Campbell, a Senior, recalls “I heard that the heat wave in the Pacific North West that hit during Covid was even more detrimental because libraries were closed and people could not escape the heat”
Bella Starnes, a senior that frequents the library often, says “The library on Del Mar has helped me get through a lot of assignments because there are no distractions and I can focus on my school work”. For many school-aged people, they serve as a quiet, calm area to study and do school work.
Many young people with unstable home life find comfort in the peace libraries provide, even if they aren’t there for the books. Libraries provide homework help resources providing many children with better opportunities for success. They aid the poor, the elderly, and everyone in between, and many people are quite reliant on what their local library provides for them. Removing libraries should not be a question. The question should be how to create more libraries so everyone has a local library close to them.
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