What Good Public Libraries Do

Last month was National Public Library Awareness. I gathered from librarian friends working in the public library sector through Facebook of the many activities they had. It was in the same month when I got tagged by a friend living in Canada of a photo he took of his son and wife reading my book, The Day Max Flew Away (Lampara Books, 2017). I also learned that my books are all available in the public library of Calgary. Amazing! What good public libraries do!

This may be a month late, but allow me to amplify the relevance of public libraries to a person, to his or her family, to the community and society in general.

1. Public libraries are spaces where a person can find his or her own people. Through services that allow him or her to access reading materials and informtion that represent his or her heritage, language and culture, the world is a little less lonelier.

2. Public libraries bridge gaps between peoples and generations. Imagine my friend’s delight to read a book in Filipino to her son when they have been living in Canada for years. The longing for home never ends. Thanks to the public library and its librarians who make books that speak of home available to migrants and immigrants. Now, a Canadian born child of Filipino ancestry could read along with his parents a story written by a Filipino author!

3. Public libraries empower people, their families and communities. Reading is a right as much as it being a skill and a set of skills to be learned. Learning to read is a skill that is learned at home, first of all. If books for learning how to read are too expensive to acquire, then public libraries come in to the rescue. What’s more, their services are developmentally programmed. There is everything for everyone in a well funded, well supported public library.

So, having said all these, I hope Filipino librarians continue to learn from each other and from the experiences of others. I am still hopeful that, despite the many challenges we face, we are able to rise above it to empower people, bridge gaps and show empathy. On a personal note, I thank the librarians of the Calgary Public Library for including my books in their Filipino collection. This is inclusive library services. This is recognising diversity. These are reasons libraries are all the more relevant today.