A recent Globe and Mail column by Mary Ladky, executive director of Toronto’s Children’s Book Bank, speaks to the recent cutbacks to Ontario library services by the provincial government.
In operation since 2008, the Children’s Book Bank provides free books and literacy support to children living in low-income neighbourhoods.
Ladky recently attended a UNESCO forum in Italy, where public libraries were affirmed as spaces that build citizenship and serve as catalysts for social mobility. The Italian members, she explained, reaffirmed their commitment to build libraries in small communities to counteract the exclusionist rhetoric of the far-right, who might prefer no public spaces to those that are open and inclusive to everyone.
“Imagine,” she wrote, “if, instead of cutting library services, our provincial government understood libraries for what they are and can be – inclusive spaces which actually drive social mobility. Our libraries, the books in them and the services they provide, foster a sense of community.”
Here at Airdrie Public Library (APL), we understand the cohesion to a community that an accessible public library brings.
Last year, there were more than 205,000 visits to the library, more than 23,500 memberships issued or renewed, and more than 1,600 programs offered, which saw almost 27,000 attendees and nearly 22,000 participants in children’s programs alone.
These aren’t just numbers – they represent families looking to build the advantages that early literacy brings to their children, tweens and teens looking for a place to connect or further their education through access to free online resources, and adults hoping to broaden their own education or understanding of a rapidly-changing world.
Put simply, libraries connect human beings to other human beings and provide ways for individuals and families to improve their social status, which ultimately strengthens the underlying social structure of a community.
Shut libraries down, or reduce their funding, and, as Ladke concludes in her column, “Social cohesion becomes that much harder.”
To learn more about what your free library card can do for you, contact us at 403-948-0600, or go online at www.airdriepubliclibrary.ca
