By: Zi Yuan Wong

As someone who loves reading different kinds of books, libraries have always been a constant part of my life. While I stopped frequenting them after I started working, I have started going back now as a student. People flock to libraries for different reasons other than reading, from studying to hanging out with their friends. In Galaxie Library, which is a few minutes’ bike ride from my place, the large open space, the smell of shelved books, and quiet atmosphere provide a nice and quiet place for me to focus on my schoolwork and writing. Writing this article from my library desk prompts me to reflect on the things that libraries offer and its overall importance for our society, in addition to being places for people to read books.

Libraries today possess multiple facilities that cater to the needs of the public. They offer places like study rooms, meeting rooms, and computer labs to anyone who has a library card, which you can get at the service counter for free. I also noticed there is a section called the law library where people can get help for anything law related from the clerk stationed there, and there is always a long line of people waiting. Some libraries even have programs for disadvantaged people like the homeless and provide amenities like mobile showers during specific days. From my observation, libraries act as a place that supports the powerless and disadvantaged, in addition to being a place for people to spend time or gain knowledge.

Libraries also play an important role that goes beyond a place for reading. More importantly, they are one of the last bastions of a democratic society where the public has free access to things. With multiple aspects of our lives being privatized or incentivized to turn a profit, libraries remain a place devoid of profit motives where the public can spend time there without being expected to pay for anything. Not to mention, a democratic society advocates the open exchange of ideas between individuals, and libraries accomplish just that by organizing community events on their premises, providing the means for people to foster community and open discussions.

In recent times, power-hungry, anti-intellectuals think that inanimate objects like books are threatening and poisoning their personal beliefs. As a result, libraries, where these ‘problematic’ books are housed, are being singled out for attacks by said people. Budget cuts and book burning are some of the attempts by these people on libraries which threatens their existence in the long-term. Fortunately, widespread support for these libraries remains for the foreseeable future as any effort to cut funding on public places like libraries will inevitably be met with large-scale protests.

In a capitalist society that prioritizes profits at the expense of everything else, libraries are expected to follow the crowd and prioritize reaping in profits like other public services. Instead, they remain a constant public good that remains accessible to everyone with no expectation of payment. From the multiple services they offer, it is a miracle that they remain accessible to people with no expectation of payment.  With everyone that wishes to make money at the expense of many people’s livelihoods, libraries are, and always will be, a place open to the public who want to gain knowledge.