Libraries as a space

I have spoken extensively on this blog about the service that libraries offer to their communities in terms of encouraging reading, developing knowledge and inspiring creativity, but I have not yet explored the other ways that libraries can be seen and used. In this and the next two posts I will explore the library as something other than a library as we see it in our primary interpretation. I will start this by exploring libraries as a space.

 

Libraries are, more often than not, a public space. Excluding for a moment those exclusive libraries that have a limited availability or a restricted community, we can look at libraries as a service for the community in terms of a useable space.

 

The library space can be employed by library staff in many ways, some of which are the workshops or training opportunities for members of the community. Most public libraries will offer private areas which can be employed for these purposes, from technology training seminars, to author visits, to childcare programs. These scheduled events and programs can be managed in the library space and the fact that the library is a comforting public space leads to those involved in these sessions being considerably more at ease in that environment.

 

The library offers a space to the individual also, allowing a person of any race, age, education or wealth to find a corner of the library and disappear into any world they so choose. The library is an environment conducive to escapism, offering a space of quiet, comfort and endless supply of imaginative worlds to leave the real world and advance, if only for a moment, into a world of your own. This interpretation of library as a space truly illustrates the value of the library to its patrons.