I Freaking Love Libraries

Far from becoming irrelevant in the digital age, libraries in New York City and around the nation are thriving: adding weekend and evening hours; hiring more librarians and staff; and expanding their catalog of classes and services to include things like job counseling, coding classes and knitting groups. No longer just repositories for books, public libraries have reinvented themselves as one-stop community centers that aim to offer something for everyone. In so doing, they are reaffirming their role as an essential part of civic life in America by making themselves indispensable to new generations of patrons.

Future Ready Schools (FRS), led by the Alliance for Excellent Education (the Alliance), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education, has announced Future Ready Librarians, aimed at positioning librarians as leaders in the digital transformation of learning, according to a release. The project is an extension of the FRS initiative, which helps district leaders recognize the potential of digital tools and align necessary technologies with instructional goals to support teaching and learning.

Academic life changes greatly from high school to college. Think back to the difference after transitioning from middle school. Topics and assignments grew more refined and specialized. The same jump will occur because of the vast intellectual offerings and facilities that can support academic inquiry. At Synocate we encourage in-depth research to uncover all of the unique collegiate opportunities. College decisions should weigh academic potential between universities. Archives Not all libraries are created equally- some afford special access to students. Library collection differ in content as relics of the past often deteriorate beyond recognition or simply disappear. Universities typically house special records across discipline with requests processed search engine or in-person query. This is different from typical book requests as aged manuscripts and documents line their shelves.

A library has become more than a place that purchases commercial books from standard publishers,” says Fiels. “Increasingly, a library is a place where people can create content and share it with other community members. Whether it’s a place where people can put old family photos or things related to community history, or their great unpublished novel, this has become a huge area that a lot of libraries are looking at.

What is a library, except a gateway to other worlds? Libraries are the place where experience meets narrative – where the “real world” touches stories, imaginings, memories, histories, designs, plans, and dreams. That’s not being fanciful – it’s the hard and painstaking work of careful curation, building partnerships on a limited budget, and trying to address the pressing issues of our time in a lively, inventive way.

Of course, as a librarian, I will help you find what you need. If you need a book at a specific Lexile range, a book with a particular Fountas & Pinnell level, I’ll help you find something great. But let’s not stop there. The beauty of the public library is that you can take home as much as you can carry. Take your leveled book. Take a couple. Take a favorite picture book from years ago. Take the book your friends are talking about. Take something to read to your little brother. Take something different from what you usually choose, just to see what it’s like. Take all you can carry, and when you bring it back, we’ll give you some more. Figure out what you love to read, and share the joy.

It’s a sort of calling – like becoming a priest, only with warmer business premises. I can’t stand by and let public libraries sink. I won’t.

“Freedom to Read Week is an opportunity once a year to remember our rights for intellectual freedom,” said Pam Medland, library director. Medland explained libraries and schools are often asked to remove certain books from their shelves due to content that some may find offensive or graphic. However, she said the APL rarely removes books from its shelves, instead using the opportunity to educate people on why it’s important to have access to them.