Libraries as Social Hubs: Your New Happy Place

Libraries as Social Hubs

Your New Happy Place

If you haven’t visited a library in the past 10 years, you’re in for a big surprise.  You won’t hear the embarrassing “ssshhhh!” of librarians demanding quiet. Well, that is unless you’re talking loudly on your cell phone with Aunt Joan about her recent gallbladder surgery and subsequent infection.  No one in the library wants to hear about that.  Kindly take it outside.  

Libraries have become more important than ever, not simply as a place to find books and a place to study, but as places for people to gather, share experiences, and learn new skills. Many libraries have created spaces which invite meetings and social gatherings, whether it’s in a study room for a book club meeting or in a space with furniture that can be moved to accommodate a group for knitting or talking about recipes, car repair, or coin collecting.  They offer concerts, movie nights, lectures, author visits, book clubs, and art exhibits. Many libraries also have maker spaces where users can learn to use 3-D printers, Adobe Photoshop, Arduino, Silhouette Cameo cutter for paper and fabric-based design projects and more. Who knows? Your next "date-night" might be a meet-up with a wine-connoisseurs group at your local library.  And there are many programs for parents and young children; they like/need to play and socialize, too.

Word is getting out that these opportunities are available, and, unlike a coffee house where you have to buy something in order to use their wi-fi, study or meet in their space, at the library it's all FREE.  Many libraries allow patrons to bring their own snacks and beverages, making them feel more at home and welcome than ever. Wayne Senville, editor of Planning Commissioners Journal, said that in one year, more people visit libraries than all major league baseball, NFL football and NCAA basketball games combined.  That's a lot of happy people connecting with others in their community, sharing experiences and maybe even a few laughs.  There's always something going on at your local library. Libraries are partnering with community businesses and other resources to add new and exciting programs all the time.  Check it out.  It just may be your new happy place.

By PJ Wiebe
April 18, 2018

Works Cited

Senville, Wayne. "Public Libraries: The Hub of Our Communities." APLIS, vol. 22, no. 3, Sept. 2009, 

       pp. 97-103. EBSCOhost, login.ezproxy.palomar.edu/login?

       url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=44266947&site=ehost-

       live&scope=site.