(Editor’s Note: The following remarks come from Dick Goodman of Suwanee, who is chairman of the Gwinnett Library Board. This a distillation of remarks given at the opening of Gwinnett’s newest library, which shares space with the Lilburn City Hall.”–eeb
By Dick Goodman, Lilburn, Ga. | There is one thing the other speakers this afternoon didn’t mention: the important role of libraries in our community and in our definition of who we are as Americans.
Libraries were not always as convenient as they are today, but we all have memories as children of going to a library. But libraries weren’t always accessible. In some communities they just didn’t exist, or they weren’t open to ordinary people.
Goodman
For centuries people have valued libraries as a storehouses of knowledge. But the idea of a lending library, where people could actually walk out with a book they didn’t pay for, was introduced in America by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia, way back in 1731.
Franklin understood the value of knowledge and education to the citizens of a democracy. So did steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, who in the beginning of the last century, gave away $1.6 billion in today’s money to build almost 1,700 public libraries across this country.
Carnegie’s gift changed the face of America and helped shape its character. Libraries are where we rediscover the ideas that define us as a people. It’s where we learn and share knowledge. Libraries are one of our best tools for preserving our democracy.
With libraries now all around us, we may take them for granted. But we shouldn’t. We can lose our libraries through complacency or by simply not understanding and valuing the role they play in a healthy community and thriving democracy.
Not long ago people were predicting that libraries would become superfluous. With the Internet and e-books, why have libraries? People could get all the books and information they want with a few taps on their computer keyboards.
But books are still here. And so are libraries. Bigger and better than ever.
We also heard that the Internet was going to eliminate the need for librarians. Why do we need librarians when we can find exactly what we’re looking for by Googling it? And we all know that everything we read on the Internet is true. Right? Librarians know where to look and how to separate the gems and from the colored glass.
And Google isn’t all there is. Our libraries give us access to information that Google doesn’t. But without librarians, you’d be hard pressed to find it.
But most important, libraries are much more than books and databases.
Libraries are about learning, knowledge, and community. Community is about sharing.
- The library is where new Americans can learn about America.
- It’s where people looking for work can find help with how to find it.
- It’s where children can experience the excitement of learning before ever setting foot in school.
- It’s where everyone can discover the amazing things you can make with a 3-D printer.
- And it’s where school children can reinforce and expand what they’ve learned in school.
Yes, our schools do a fantastic job. But they’re not open in the evenings, or on Saturday or Sunday, or during spring or winter break, or, the long three months of the summer. Our libraries are.
The library is where we come together and share what we are and what we know. It’s where we come together as Americans.
And here, today, in Lilburn, this new facility cements together knowledge and community in one place.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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