A majority of people debate about whether or not libraries should be closed down because they claim to be ‘useless’. However many other people think that libraries are still needed as there are many benefits of keeping them open, the main one being borrowing books for free.

Some families with lower incomes do not have the choice but to borrow books. The closure of public libraries could be obstructing peoples education.

Another reason why public libraries should not be closed is because they are not only used for borrowing books, they can also be used for leisure centres and trying to escape from everyday life. Knowing that they provide computers, games and many more options such as leisure centres. The perfect place to go is to the library as there is nothing that can distract you, and you have nothing to worry about as you can relax as much as you want. It is a place where people can also socialize and create new friendships with other people.

Public libraries are known for peace and quiet, they are safe and neutral places. In some communities the public library may be the only free space available that is actually a safe place as well. Young victims  of bullying use the simile ‘libraries feel as safe as being at home’ to describe their feelings and emotions towards libraries. This is another reason in why libraries should not be closed.

Closing down public libraries could also affect authors. This is because their job could be on the line because they would not be selling any books and their books would not be borrowed in the libraries.

If helping you with your literacy and vocabulary are a bad thing, then public libraries should be closed.  We all know that this statement is maddness. Studies show that children’s literacy is greatly improved by accessing libraries across the whole U.K. This is also a building block of adult literacy as it helps you in everyday life. This shows us that libraries can be used as a secondary form of school and they can be accessed anytime of the week.

They can also provide tutoring programmes, free classes and also access to volumes of information and technology that a person might not have access anywhere else apart from a library. Even in the modern day there are kids who do not have computers at home and might have to print out work. One of the options could be to go to the library. There are kids who can’t afford tutors, so they go to the library. Libraries help people from an early age and should not stop as it does nothing wrong but only benefit them.

 

These days there are a lot of people who talk about how nobody reads anymore. (But that is not true. People are reading all the time and they do not even realize it.)People are on Facebook, Wikipedia, sport articles etc. They just look on the internet to read virtual copies of books. In addition to this they could possibly be  downloading newspapers, sports articles etc on their tablets or any devices. There are all kinds of other stuff besides books that libraries provide for people in our community everyday.

Terry Deary’s article in the guardian “Libraries Horrible History” suggests that libraries have had their day and are also no longer relevant. This is because they have been around too long and can not compare to the developments in technology, I.e the ever accessible internet. I disagree with his point because I my self still go to libraries and it is much easier to take in information knowing in what environment I am in rather than being at home. Also just feeling the pages of paper through the fingers rather than scrolling through the internet is a much better feeling of knowing that you are reading and inputing information because you could get distracted on your phone by going on other apps such as facebook , Instagram etc.

If people think outside the box it may just be the last available place which is available for all types of people i.e homeless, rich, poor etc. or any race on this planet. We are all equally respected and welcome there. It is a place which is to valuable for us people to lose.

 

Would you want to lose such a valuable place?