Love Your Library

February and love have been closely linked for nearly 2,000 years. In the 1960s we started recognizing February as American Heart Month, and in recent decades, libraries jumped on the theme of the month, declaring February ‘Library Lovers Month’.

I discovered this lesser-known milestone on a recent visit to my town’s public library. As I browsed the new releases section looking for my next read, the nearby sign promoting Library Lovers Month was an important reminder of how libraries offer so much to our communities.

Creating Community and Connection

The libraries’ role as a community hub has become more important in recent years. I spoke about this with our friend Alyson Hussey who serves as a Trustee of the Hingham Public Library in Sara’s town in Massachusetts. She pointed out how libraries have evolved to become more of a community gathering space, offering a place open to everyone.  With memberships to religions institutions and other organizations declining, libraries are stepping in to offer spaces for meetings, lectures, and events that foster a sense of belonging and connection among community members.

In an age when social isolation is a growing concern, libraries are a welcoming environment where people can connect on shared interests or simply relax without judgement.

A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert.

Andrew Carnegie

Providing Access to Resources

Libraries are inclusive spaces that welcome everyone, regardless of age or socio-economic status, and offer resources for every life stage. When I first moved from Chicago to Glenview in 2011, it coincided with my shift from a full-time management role to consulting work so I could be more involved in my young sons’ lives. I had carved out more time, but this came with less money.

The Glenview Public Library was a lifeline for me from the start. I loved how we could fill an afternoon playing with toys on one of the activities tables, cozy up in an overstuffed chair with a handful of Curious George books, then stand by the picture windows to watch commuters returning from work at the train station across the street. I discover they offered free passes to museums, and their summer reading challenge program was a smart way to tap to incentivize reading during the long school breaks.

A decade later the library played a different role for me as a job seeker looking for employment resources. I’d see other professionals using the free meeting rooms to conduct business and noticed how the recently opened Maker Space connected community members to materials that supported creativity and future businesses.

Supporting Sustainability

Data from Gallup and the National Endowment for the Arts both tell the same unfortunate story; reading is on the decline. With Americans reading fewer books than ever, and book reading shifting to a Kindle or Audible, libraries have adapted to provide access to other resources to their communities.  While the Maker Space is a great way to bring people into the library in Glenview, Alyson shared that her library offers more than books to check out. In addition to museum passes, her library allows residents to check out expensive technologies like computers and projector screens for a backyard movie nights, budding musicians can check out a guitar, or even a violin.

With technology and personal interests evolving so quickly, having access to borrow or trial resources reduces waste and saves money. Alyson shared that her library offers a ‘seed swap’ that allows gardeners to put their excess materials to good use. And Sara wrote about how their library’s ‘Beyond the Books’ program lets community members who’ve, “dreamed of owning an original work of art but don’t have the money,” to borrow original artwork for their homes.

Public libraries provide invaluable resources, foster connections, and bridge gaps in access to information and technology. The importance of libraries, especially public libraries, cannot be overstated. Show them the love this February, and all throughout the year!