National Library Week highlights the role of libraries in our digital age

2025-04-07
|In Libraries
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Let's be honest; there's really never a bad time to celebrate libraries, or to take some time to consider the role that the local library plays in the public life of a community. On the other hand, it's nice to have a week — or even more — on the calendar to put public libraries in the spotlight.

In Canada, for example, Library Month is observed each October — which is the same month in which the UK celebrates its own Libraries Week.

In the United States, April 6 to 12, 2025, is National Library Week, which the American Library Association (ALA) describes as "an annual celebration highlighting the valuable role libraries, librarians, and library workers play in transforming lives and strengthening our communities".

Stories and art draw people together

This year's Honorary Chairs of National Library Week are award-winning author and illustrator Raina Telgemeier and cartoonist and comic theorist Scott McCloud. Together, the two created the new graphic novel, The Cartoonists Club, in which a school librarian helps a group of creative youngsters "discover the magic of comics, imagination, and their own storytelling power."

"The Cartoonists Club is a graphic novel for kids, but the message is for anyone who's ever struggled to find the courage to express themselves," McCloud said. "Raina and I are excited to show our readers how stories and art can bring people together, and libraries are critical to that process — now more than ever!"

In that spirit, let's take a look at four of the most important roles libraries play in drawing people together:

  1. acting as a community hub
  2. supporting diversity
  3. providing access to technology and digital resources
  4. promoting intellectual freedom

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1. Libraries are vital community hubs

Citing sociologist Eric Klinenberg’s 2019 book Palaces for the People, we have made the case before that public libraries are critical social infrastructure.

As Stacey A. Aldrich, state librarian of Hawaii and director of the state's 51-branch public library system, recently told PressReader, the role of librarians has evolved far beyond being merely keepers of knowledge. "Librarians are dedicated to their communities and are adapting as we continue to create human connections to our collective stories and each other," Aldrich said.

Today's librarians continue to provide access to books, of course, but they are also able to help library users with a wide range of needs, from providing resources for small business development to connecting patrons with information on mental health issues.

Many libraries also help foster a creative and innovative society by making library space available for community engagement and recreation — think of everything from book clubs to media labs and maker spaces.

A recent Governing column noted that many public libraries across the United States have been taking on more and more of the functions traditionally associated with community centers and transforming themselves into "third places":

An increasing number of libraries have opened cafes to enhance local sociability. Many have placed job-training centers inside. Seattle’s main library contains a satellite City Hall. Charlotte is building an indoor-outdoor library to attract more customers year-round. The library in Athens, Ga., has become a focal point for chess tournaments. The one in Evanston, Ill., has created an entire sports complex. The library in Upper Providence Township in Pennsylvania has installed a teaching kitchen.

2. Libraries connect people from all walks of life

In democratic societies, community libraries stand as bastions of diversity, serving library users of all cultural backgrounds and abilities. In recent years, many public libraries have risen to challenge in a number of ways, from helping to preserve Indigenous languages and cultural heritage to teaching media literacy to underserved communities.

In its Statement on Libraries and Intellectual Freedom, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) affirms that "Libraries shall make materials, facilities and services equally accessible to all users. There shall be no discrimination due to race, creed, gender, age or for any other reason."

 

Reflecting the diversity of their patrons

Libraries can create an inclusive space and promote multiculturalism in their communities by ensuring their collections and resources reflect the diversity of their patrons. PressReader is a great example; with publications from over 120 countries in more than 60 different languages, it allows users to read their favorite content from home and from around the world.

Branches can host cultural workshops and programs that showcase the traditions, art, music and literature of various cultures; they can also tap into the knowledge and lived experience of community members by hosting a "living library" event, such as the type presented by the Human Library Organization. Talking to folks from various backgrounds is a great way to build bridges between communities, challenge our assumptions and shatter stereotypes.

PressReader Libraries communities are diverse

 

3. Libraries are guardians of intellectual freedom

Academic and public librarians worldwide share a deep commitment to intellectual freedom. This principle is enshrined in key documents such as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 19 of the latter, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, states:

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Reflecting this commitment, the Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA) affirms in its Statement on Intellectual Freedom and Libraries that all individuals in Canada have the fundamental right to "have access to the full range of knowledge, imagination, ideas, and opinion, and to express their thoughts publicly."

Freedom and privacy are core values

Similarly, in January 2024, the American Library Association (ALA) adopted five new core values, including the right to intellectual freedom and privacy. As the ALA states:

Intellectual freedom empowers people to think for themselves and to make informed decisions while respecting each individual’s dignity and independence. Library workers encourage people to cultivate curiosity and form ideas by questioning the world and accessing information from diverse viewpoints and formats without restrictions or censorship. The right to privacy is a crucial safeguard to this freedom, ensuring everyone has the right to develop their thoughts and opinions free of surveillance.

The ALA will launch National Library Week with the release of its annual State of America's Libraries Report, which will include the list of the Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2024. Additionally, Monday, April 7, marks Right to Read Day, "a day for readers, advocates and library lovers to take action to protect, defend and celebrate the right to read."

4. Technology in the public library

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Hawaii state librarian Aldrich told PressReader that providing access to technology and digital resources is part of the ongoing evolution of the role of libraries:

Although our profession is one of constant adaptation to the needs of our communities, our core remains. We collect and connect communities to information, ideas and each other, but how we do it is constantly morphing. Librarians continue to learn new skills to adapt to ever-changing needs of their communities. One simple example is technology. In the 1990s, public libraries were on the forefront of teaching people how to use computers and the internet, which is now called digital literacy skills. Librarians learned new skills to ensure that their patrons could connect to the world, and they continue to learn and provide access to emerging technologies.

Around the world, libraries continue to bridge the digital divide for many users — including those in rural areas and those experiencing homelessness — by providing internet access and the use of desktop computers.

Modern libraries also cater to the evolving needs of today's tech-savvy society (and those of Gen Z and millennial patrons in particular) with a vast array of digital resources, including eBooks, audiobooks, databases and digital news platforms like PressReader.

This allows users to access a wide range of materials from anywhere, at any time, with just a public library card and an internet connection.

As new technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual and augmented reality emerge, librarians actively participate in adapting them to enhance library services and keep their institution relevant for future generations of patrons.

 

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