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We’re all slaves to the Internet, let’s face it. And too often we think that everything we want to see, everything we want to know, everything we want to read is right there.  Why go to a library?  What does a brick-and-mortar library have that I can’t find on the Net?

Good question, and I asked a bunch of librarians from across the country to discuss that topic. This is going to change your opinions about libraries forever.

JONATHAN MABERRY: A lot of people think libraries are passé. Why is that NOT the case?

TONYA OSWALT: Anyone who works in a library or who visits a library knows that libraries have moved forward with current trends and still have a place in our communities.  Libraries still serve as a place for information and entertainment needs.  In addition, libraries also serve as job resource centers, providing patrons with information on how to create resumes, as well as with computers to create those resumes, do job searches, and fill out online job applications.  Many libraries also offer free computer classes to the public.  Plus, libraries continue to offer programs for all age groups throughout the year to encourage reading among children and teenagers.

SHANNA SWIGERT SMITH: I think it is easy to label the library as passé.  Just the other day, someone asked me if people still use the library and if we still keep the old card catalog around.  If one person is thinking like this, no doubt other people have the same thoughts.  As both a librarian and a 20-something adult, I enjoy correcting these misconceptions by sharing all that is happening at the library.  On any given day we have live music, author events, and art shows.  In fact, I personally have taken friends to events at my library when I am not even on the clock.  I think that says a lot.

ROBIN BRENNER: A lot of people think libraries are passé. Why is that NOT the case?  On the technology angle: While Google is a wonderful tool, we librarians can find you the information you need, and the correct information at that, faster, more reliably, and in more depth than any web search.  I think people forget that while they may do a quick search a few times a day, we librarians do nothing BUT ferret out information at least eight hours a day. (If you’re like me, you also have a hard time stopping, so you also offer customers help in bookstores and are trusted by your friends to find what they need too, even at midnight.)  I live for the questions that come to my desk because I love finding out the answers to questions I would never think to ask.

On the general purpose of libraries: Content has always been a library’s soul — we connect people with the information or entertainment they need or want.  I love the object of a book as the next person, but I care more about the words inside.  Libraries have always changed to accommodate how people are seeking, and that hasn’t changed.  We carry more different types of content and media now than ever, and the restrictions a physical building and physical items is loosening.  That doesn’t mean the idea of lending and borrowing, of having a guide for your search, is going to fade away.

RACHEL KRITZMANN: People that think libraries are passé probably think books are passé.  After all, everything is on Google anyway, right?

The problem with this argument is two-fold:  First, it makes an assumption about what libraries are:  The assumption is that libraries are simply book warehouses.  Of course book are important to libraries (books to libraries are as paintings to art museums) but they are by no means the only part of a library.  Libraries also collect music, movies, magazines, provide free internet access, computers, and programs for all age ranges.  At my library, it’s not uncommon to have a pre-school story time in the morning, a lunch time adult program on almost any topic imaginable (past lunch time lectures have included candy-sushi making and estate planning) and after school teen programs in the afternoon.

The second assumption is that people have all the money in the world, and would rather purchase then borrow, that the ease of going to Amazon and purchasing a book, or CD, or movie is preferable to checking it out from the library.  I think that the hit the world economy has taken over the last few years has changed that assumption.  It can be hard to justify spending money on something when you know you can get it for free at the library.  It may not be available immediately, but you’ll get it.  My library system owns almost three hundred copies of The Hunger Games, 39 copies of the book on CD, 7 copies of the book in Spanish, and two in Chinese.  Even in a city of several million people, you will get the book fairly quickly, for free.  And if you read 50 pages and don’t like, it return to any branch and finds something that you do like.

LIZZ ZITRON: Let’s start with how cool librarians are and work from there. They protect your right to privacy, help you access free information and will show you how to use the copier.

Our services are only the cornerstone of democracy! Where else can citizens access, usually for free, computers, DVDs, books, CDs, magazines and other forms of information? If you want it, we’ll do our darndest to find it for you.

Additionally, libraries are early adopters and advocates of technology. We are on the forefront of the movement to provide affordable, accessible internet access, in particular to underserved communities.

A library is not the sum of its books. It’s a place in which people can access information. This increasingly includes programming, especially for teens and children. For many young people, the library is the only safe space they can go to after-school. Librarians are stepping up to the challenge to make the library a cool place as well. Teen librarianship is one of the fastest-growing segments of librarianship because the profession has recognized a need to more comprehensively serve this population.

KATE VASILIK: A lot of people think libraries are passé.  That statement is correct, but the rationale behind it isn’t.  Libraries house information, and they employ librarians who are trained to help disseminate that information.  It is not a matter of control over the information – all are invited within the doors at their leisure – but rather it is a matter of the guidance that librarians offer as service in order to allow people to gain information more easily, efficiently, and effectively.  Regardless of the format – printed, audiovisual, or electronic – the library still is effective in organizing information, lending material, and guiding users toward previously undiscovered knowledge and perspective.  Additionally, libraries serve more and more as resting places, interactive centers of communities of people, and locations prime for thoughtful discussion and acceptance of ideas.

JESSICA MILLER: Libraries are the new “community centers” of our society. We serve new functions.  Libraries are not just places for serious research anymore.  That is the biggest problem that libraries have today.  We cannot seem to wipe the stereotypical ancient, unforgiving, and rigid library from peoples’ minds.  More people need to realize that libraries have not only changed their collections to suit the needs of today’s users (to include media for entertainment, browsing collections for pleasure reading, and electronic materials) but their entire philosophies and services to enter the 21st century.  Library users can come and enjoy free internet (on our hardware or through wi-fi on their own), free programming (fun and/or educational things for all ages), get assistance to find jobs, learn about new careers, get tax assistance, get free homework help, and generally have a safe place to stay during the day.  Libraries help their users get through all stages of life and all for FREE!

GERI DIORIO: A library is more than a collection of printed materials.  It is more than a collection of DVDs and CDs and Playaways.   It is a community center.  It is a gathering place.  It is where moms can meet other moms when their toddlers are in storytime.  It is where a bookish 7th grader can connect with a bookish 10th grader and their love of reading can bridge the enormous gap between middle school and high school and a friendship can form. It is where seniors can attend a digital photography class and pick up new skills and new friends.  As long as humans are social animals, libraries will not be passé.

ANDREA INGALA: I think of library not only as a center and point of access to information, but as a community center, a meeting place. Not only are we providing access for all, but we are also providing a physical space for the community. Some people think they don’t need the library because they’re “not readers.” That’s not the case at all. Whether you’re a reader or not, there’s something for everyone in the library. I think the criticism about the usefulness of a library actually comes from people who don’t use the library. Passe? Out of date? What?! We have DVD, blu-ray, e-books, audio, GPSes, MP3 players, even the Chelmsford Library in MA will be providing an electronic car charger.

ELIZABETH CORBETT: There are so many compelling reasons why this is NOT the case, it’s hard to know where to begin. I’m a children’s librarian who loves storytimes, from the mobbed, raucous Babies Love Books to the quiet gathering of a few families and their stuffed animals at Pajama Storytime. So, I’m going to answer this question by telling some library stories.

Very early in my career, I was assigned to a library in a struggling neighborhood with lots of abandoned buildings and very few resources. Of the many patrons who came to the branch every day, Nacee was the most beloved and the most notorious. He was seven years old when I met him, dismissed and ignored at home, and completely out of place everywhere else. He walked by himself to the library because he needed a place that was safe and welcoming, and because it allowed him to indulge his obsession with classic horror movies, The Terminator, Conan the Barbarian, Robocop, and …The Golden Girls. I kid you not. Nacee loved Rue McClanahan.
Together, we looked through every movie book in the library, expanding his already encyclopedic knowledge of all things cinema, and giving him a chance to show off by identifying screen stars like Boris Karloff and Bella Lugosi that few other seven-year-olds have ever heard of. Nacee would beg us to print movie pictures off the Internet and so he could construct gruesome collages that he would bestow upon one of the staff before leaving for the day. For this curious, intelligent, eccentric little boy, libraries are not passé.

My current library serves a large and growing community of new Americans, primarily from Mexico, China, and Vietnam. One recent Vietnamese immigrant who has adopted the Free Library as his second home is Hieu, a twelve-year-old boy with disarming dimples and endless enthusiasm. When Hieu arrived in this country with virtually no English skills, he quickly identified the Free Library as the key to his survival. He understands better than anybody how to plumb the depths of the library’s resources. He should give lessons.

Hieu rides his bike from one branch to another, building relationships with a whole entourage of librarians and taking advantage of the different materials, programming, and character of each branch. He is an avid user of the “holds” system, unlocking his access to the holdings of the entire library system, not just the branches he can visit. He audits adult ESL classes in the library whenever he’s not in school. He has joined my book club for 8- to 12-year-old readers, which will start in the fall. He uses the computer to communicate using Google Translator, read Manga comics in Vietnamese, play video games, and connect to people on social networking sites — in both his first and his second language. At the end of his library day, Hieu packs his Hannah Montana backpack (free gift from the library) with a pile of English language books and videos that will keep him busy and learning at home, until he returns the next day. Hieu is tackling a lot of scariness and uncertainty in his life, but there is one thing he is absolutely certain about: anything that piques his interest, anything he wants to read or watch or listen to, he can get through the library. And he does. (He also brings it back, which is the tricky part for many among us.) For this determined dynamo of a little boy, libraries are not passé.

As the kids say, just one more story. This one is about the families who come to storytime. Hordes of them. Strollers line up around the building on a Tuesday morning, waiting to get in. The babies come, they sing, they dance, they get bounced and tickled by their companion grownups, they listen to and participate in the reading of great books, and they are happy. For many of them, it’s their favorite time of the week. They leave storytime so completely jazzed about books, they can’t wait to pull a bunch more off the shelves to take home, or to sit and read in the children’s room right then and there. Sometimes I look out from my desk after storytime (and at other times, too) and I am overcome by the realization that my job lets me witness the joyful development of a community of readers: neighbors of many different backgrounds, sitting together in a place where books are both cherished and free, reading with their little ones, who will grow up loving and feeling connected to books, no matter what format they may come to read them in. For these preschool children and the adults who care for them, libraries are not passé.

EMMA WEILER: Libraries are still the last place in a community to provide free services. To give one example, while most people do have a computer &/or internet, not everyone does.  And not everyone with a computer has internet (I know of homeless people who own computers).  These are the people who most need access.  They need to search for and apply for jobs.  They need to have something that gives them legitimacy – one’s email address does not give away one’s status the way a zip code does.

A second example: libraries are gathering places at a time when people physically gather together less and less.  It is a safe place for kids and teens to congregate in the afternoons. It has sing alongs and storytimes to take your kids to.  It provides free community rooms for groups to meet. Many libraries have free passes to local museums and attractions.  Often, libraries have gallery space, free for local artists to display their work.

Yes, libraries have information.  And I say “information”, not “books” because, to me, that is what is important.  We need access to information that informs and also entertains.  Is reading important? Yes.  Is promoting reading the only function of a library? No.  And that’s what libraries need to get across.  We have always been here providing these services, we just need to remind people of that.

BIG SCARY BLOG:  In this age of e-readers and electronics, why are libraries still relevant?

TONYA OSWALT: This is another example of how libraries are grabbing hold of current technologies and moving forward with them.  Many libraries have embraced e-reader technology by partnering with companies such as OverDrive to offer downloadable eBooks and audio books through the library. Most people who work in libraries acknowledge that while some people will always love the feel of a book in their hand, there are benefits to having these downloadable options.  For example, I have noticed an increase in older patrons asking about our OverDrive service; they say that this is because the e-readers give them the ability to zoom in, making it easier for them to see the words.   The library is here for the people of the community and offering downloadable eBooks and audio books is just one more way for us to give the people what they want and need.

SHANNA SWIGERT SMITH: I believe libraries remain relevant because of the community need.  Definitely those needs have changed through the years, but the library has changed too.  Almost daily, I am exploring new applications for technology, websites, software and electronics, which includes e-readers, and I imagine other librarians are doing the same thing. So when people visit the library and ask about downloading an e-book onto their nook, I can answer with confidence because I did the exact same thing yesterday.

ROBIN BRENNER: Far too many folks forget the large sections of the population who are not able or willing to buy every book they read, movie they see, or gadget they see.  You simply cannot predict the death of books or reading or libraries without also understanding that every single new technology takes decades to become ubiquitous, and every new technology does not kill the old.  They also forget that technologies change and become useless far more frequently than ink on paper (remember 5 1/2″ floppy disks?)

I’m as wired as the next person.  I have in my bag, at any time, my cell phone, my iPod Touch (full of audio books, podcasts, and music), and…a good old-fashioned book.  I can entertain myself any way, anytime, anywhere.  People predict that one kind of reading must wipe out another, but I find more and more people simply use them all, depending on the situation and their own needs for consuming content.

RACHEL KRITZMANN: Well, first of all:  Libraries offer e-books, and e-audio books, and e-video.  Librarians, like all educators, understand that there are multiple kinds of literacy.  We want to make sure that people are able to access the things we purchase.

Specifically regarding e-readers, the initial purchase of the device is a huge investment.  Even on the lower end of the market, dropping $114 for a Kindle without Wi-Fi that has ads is a lot of money, and then you have to purchase the books themselves, at $9.99 a pop on average.  So, getting the complete works of Michael Chabon would still be more expensive than checking them out from the library, and also impossible because not all of his work is available on Kindle.  The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is not available in Kindle format.  But there are 63 available copies of it at my library, and currently the holds list is zero.

LIZZ ZITRON:  See above paragraph.

KATHERINE VASILIK: Books have long been available to the public, both inside and outside of libraries.  Now, electronic materials are also available, both inside and outside of libraries.  There is no shift of the need itself, just a change of format.  The library still employs experts that are on-hand to offer free guidance toward information and reading materials, and unlike purchasing e-books and downloadable audio through the internet (or print books through a bookstore), the library still offers all of its materials for free, to anyone in any community, regardless of socioeconomic status, educational background, or physical or mental ability.  Purchasing and collecting material has value to many, but libraries offer a necessary free alternative.

JESSICA MILLER: In the electronic age, libraries are still a great resource for all the same reasons that people had when looking for print materials.  Want to try out an e-reader before buying? Borrow one from the public library.  What to read an e-book, but not necessarily own it?  Borrow it through your library’s e-book collection.  Not quite sure how to transfer an e-book to your e-reader?  Come in and ask a Librarian or take a class.  Not sure what to read next? Ask us and we’ll help you find your next great read.

GERI DIORIO: Because not everyone can afford those nice toys.  The digital divide is still very much with us. Libraries let anyone, with any income level, come in and use the computers, check e-mail, read the latest bestseller, read today’s Times without a subscription…

ANDREA INGALA: Libraries are still relevant with or without the use of e-readers and electronics. On one hand, we are lending out e-books and downloadable audio to those that want it; we have a collection through our website. But I always come back to the question of everyone else. Are we going to shut our doors to those that can’t afford an e-reader, an internet connection or a computer at home? I’m painting very broad strokes, but the “digital divide” would only worsen if we were to focus our attention only on those that are looking for the electronic format of materials.

ELIZABETH CORBETT: There is something beyond just reading books and finding information that humans seek, because it brings us joy and inspiration and peace. It is the experience of entering a place of books. A place where we can wander around, soaking in the atmosphere of books, letting their beauty and power awaken our senses and our imaginations. A place where we can be drawn to a particular volume on a particular shelf, pull it down, and discover what’s inside, at our own pace, without judgment or expectations, in the company of other humans. Many of us have had this experience at bookstores as well as libraries. The key is that the books – tactile objects prone to the damaging effects of age and use – are carefully arranged, artfully displayed, inviting us to explore them. It is my fervent hope that bookstores will be around for eons; but public libraries are not just free bookstores. They aren’t commercial enterprises. They are social service institutions that our society needs to continue to support and protect, lest unimpeded market forces leave us with no places of books.

EMMA WEILER: Well, how are you going to afford all those e-books without a library?

MABERRY: What happens to a community that loses its library?

TONYA OSWALT:  A community that loses its library loses a central part of what makes the community whole.  The sad thing is that there are a lot of people in every community that may not notice the absence of their community library, but without the library, students lose a place to go to for homework help and research.  Adults and older teenagers lose a valuable job resource.  A library isn’t just a house of books.  It’s also a place where people gather, where the people of the community see one another and catch up at each visit, where memories are made as children interact during library programs.  When a community loses its library, all of these things are lost as well.

SHANNA SWIGERT SMITH: This is not the time for a community to give up on its public library!  Our library seems to get busier and busier every day.  I can only imagine if a library was closed that there would be a loss of educational resources and support, the digital divide would increase, there would be a decreased sense of community, and many children and youth adults would be forced to spend their time in less savory and safe situations.  Personally, I wouldn’t want to live in a community without a library.

RACHEL KRITZMANN: I would like to say that the sun goes out and the locusts ravage the crops ‘afore the eternal winter comes, but that isn’t entirely accurate.  What happens is that community loses.  Just straight up loses.  They lose access, they lose a sense of community, they lose all the money they’ve spent in taxes to support the library when the library closes.  People in the community don’t get that money back, and isn’t that just the worst kind of wasted investment?  Libraries do so much with such little money.  They have story times and class visits, they give people an opportunity to meet each other, and interact in a space that is safe and protected.  They give teenagers a safe space that isn’t home or school, a place where they can have supervised independence.  They allow for people to try things, anything.  To learn to knit, or to make jam, to try and learn French, or how to restore a classic car, all without judgement, all for free, and if something doesn’t take, or you don’t like what you’re doing, you can take the book back and try something else.  For free.  All the time.  Forever.  Losing that, destroying that relationship…I honestly don’t know how a community could recover, losing their sense of adventure.

Lizz Zitron: Communities that lose libraries lose a piece of themselves. Libraries often serve as repositories for local history both in their collection and the physical building. Libraries provide a different sort of community space than a city hall or community center. A library is much more accessible and open to all in a community. You don’t need an appointment to use the library. You can walk in and start using it right away.

I honestly believe public libraries are a cornerstone of democracy. When citizens can easily access information important to them, democracy is working.

KATHERINE VASILIK: A community that loses a library loses one of the few things that can weave commonality through individuals who might not otherwise connect through a single thing.  It loses one of the few things that offer a wealth of things (information, recreation, community support) with asking for little in return.

JESSICA MILLER: The enormity of this question makes it extremely difficult to answer.  The problem is that in a community with no library there are repercussions that are immediately evident and then there are trickle down effects that may not be readily attributed to the lack of a library.  For instance, if there is no library, there are no free materials or internet access.  Then when people need to hunt for jobs they cannot look beyond their own local area.  When the school budgets get cut and class sizes swell and students cannot get the additional assistance they need from their teachers, they can no longer turn to the Library for additional materials, a place to meet with study groups, or free tutoring.  Then when twenty years down the road, a student wants to do a project on local history, people suddenly realize that those pieces of information were not kept and catalogued for future generations, and that that history has not been preserved. Libraries are vital to communities in many, many ways and a community without one will definitely suffer.

GERI DIORIO: It loses a lot of things, but something I’d like to point out is the loss of “the third place” for teens.  Everyone needs a third place – a safe community place that is separate from work and home. For adults this might be a bar, a church, a club.  For teens (who have school and home as their first two places), the choices are narrower.  They might have church, but they do not have a lot of other places, especially if their family is poor.  A library offers teens a safe, interesting, community space to play, learn, and grow in.

ANDREA INGALA: My director once told me that the programs that always get cut first are the prevention programs because you can never assess everything that was actually prevented with them. Take literacy programs for young children in low income communities, even something as simple as a storytime at the library. We can not easily evaluate the effect this has on a kid, whether or not he or she would have had a different path in life based on going to this program. In general, yes, there are things to which we can point: illiteracy rates among criminals, high school dropouts, etc. But when it comes down to budget time and different programs and departments are being evaluated based on bottom lines and whether or not the people of the community need their potholes repaired for safety’s sake or another staff member in the building to help at the circulation desk with the increase in materials circulated, it’s difficult to fight for those things. Potholes are concrete evidence on where tax money is going (ooh, a pun). Make no mistake, though, Public Works is vital to the safety of a community, but so is a library.

ELIZABETH CORBETT: It is broken-hearted. It is starved for a place to come together around books, stories, sharing of information, and discussing issues of importance to the community (e.g., local schools, health and safety concerns). Lost little kids who might otherwise find a safe home in the library, just get more lost. The digital divide in that community expands astronomically. The equity of access to books and information in that community plummets, leaving many of its members with no reliable source of reading material that they can afford. There is no weekly wild rumpus of a storytime where young children have a ball with books. A community that loses its library loses its center of supported exploration and independent learning for all people. It loses the place where all who enter can feel safe to be curious about anything, to ask questions about anything, and to get expert, wholehearted help searching for the answers.

EMMA WEILER: I feel that this fragments a community, or at least creates cracks.  In many ways, I feel that libraries are like the roots of a tree – you can’t see the strength under the ground holding the tree up, and if the roots die, the tree stands for a while.  But without the roots, the tree weakens, dies, and collapses.  I think this is why it can be so hard to define the importance of a library.  They are not things you look at but they support you none-the-less.

MABERRY: What can people do to support their local library?

TONYA OSWALT: One thing that the people of the community can do to support their libraries is to vote for the mill tax, or property tax, during elections, but library support goes much further.  First and foremost, visit your library and checkout the materials!  Use the services that the library offers.  Bring your children and friends!  Tell your neighbors, your friends, and everyone you know, about the library and what it has to offer.

SHANNA SWIGERT SMITH: Visit us!  And when you visit, be sure to bring your friends.

ROBIN BRENNER: Use it!  Critique it.  Tell us what we’re doing right, and tell us what we’re doing wrong.  More than anything, if you go to the library and they don’t have something you want, SAY SOMETHING.  The word of the people we serve in the ears of library directors, trustees, town selectmen, and supervisors, has far more weight than anything one librarian or library staff person may suggest.  Be sure to pay attention to local town budgets and where the library stands — and be informed about how voting will change how your library works for you.

RACHEL KRITZMANN: By using their library!  And telling their friends and families to use their libraries!  By shouting from the rooftops (or at least Facebook and Twitter) about using their libraries!  Now is the time for a library revolution.  Never be shamed faced for being interested in anything-whether it’s gay erotica, or if magic is real, or in the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas, because likely the librarians you talk to will have read that book, too, oh, and wait until you get to page 52, it’s amazing! Libraries are meant for the public.  We are meant to be used by the public.  We want to be used by the public, to help them find what they want, to get them the book they need, or at least get them on the waiting list.  Using your local library, and encouraging others to do so, by building  a sense of connection to the library, that is the best way to support us.  Money?  Librarians can bleed coins from rocks if we have to.  But there is nothing more terrifying to us than an apathetic public.

LIZZ ZITRON: Use them! Vote for them! those are two great ways to start. I’ve heard criticisms regarding supporting libraries when we need to put money towards feeding people or towards schools. Well, libraries are not just a place for books! Libraries are where kids go after school when there’s no place else to go. Libraries are where unemployed folks go to get free computer classes to update their skills and learn how to apply for jobs online. Libraries are where many homeless people spend hot days and cold evenings.
The San Diego Public Library Foundation is an excellent model of how people are involved in supporting their libraries. Not that everyone has to literally take to the streets or do something this big. Joining your Friends of the Library group or helping to start one is a great form for advocacy and support.

Also, follow what’s going on in your state regarding library funding. Writing letters to your representatives really can make a difference. Fortunately the American Librarian Association provides an excellent online tool kit for keeping abreast of issues and ways to advocate. http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/index.cfm

KATHERINE VASILIK: The best way to support any local business or community center is to USE it.  Show that it adds value to your life and the lives of others by taking full and complete advantage of all of the wonderful things it offers.  And to take it a step further: talk to everyone you know about how much value the library adds to your life.

JESSICA MILLER: Honestly, though some people think that donating materials to their local library is the best thing they could do to help, it’s really not. Don’t get me wrong; We LOVE donations of materials or in monetary form, but really what’s needed is positive exposure.  The best thing that people could do is tell everyone they know how much they love their library and how it has actually impacted their life.  Did a Librarian help you get a job?  Did that library tutor help you get into college?  Did having a safe place to go after school help keep you from joining a gang?  Tell people that!! The more that everyone hears these stories the better the public image of today’s libraries becomes – and with the economic crises of today’s society, we need politicians to think that society cannot function without libraries.

GERI DIORIO: They can use it – a lot.  Usage statistics help tremendously when applying for grants and funding.  They can let their town government know they like and use it.  Write letters, send e-mails, make phone calls, and not just when funding is on the line!  Do it outside a time of crisis and show them you love it.  People can also tell other people about the library and encourage them to use it.  Remind folks we are here!

ANDREA INGALA: People need to USE their library to support it! We are not a business and can not be evaluated by sales. We are, however, judged in worth by different numbers: door counts, program attendance, and circulation perhaps most of all. These things matter when it comes to whether or not we are valued in the community, when it comes to where the people of the community spend their tax dollars. I am, of course, speaking only of public libraries.

ELIZABETH CORBETT: Use it! Visit. Borrow materials (and bring them back on time, please). If you don’t see the item or the format you’re looking for, tell the librarian. S/he may well be able to help you track it down. The Free Library of Philadelphia, like many libraries, has downloadable books, audio books, music, and movies. Explore your library’s website to unearth hidden resources and services. Get to know your librarians and ask them questions, give them feedback, let them know what you value about the library and what else you’d like to see there. Make requests for new materials, formats, and programs. Tell your friends about how cool the library is, then invite them to your library fund-raiser. If you can afford to pay your overdue fines, pay them. Think of it as a donation to a community organization you care about. Bring your children to the library. Keep bringing your children. Teach them to understand that the library is theirs to use, to shape, to make demands of, and to contribute to throughout their lifetimes.

EMMA WEILER: All the obvious things – remind their local politicians that libraries support community and that you support funding our libraries.   I think making an effort to use the library more is good (a bit of a ‘duh’ suggestion). Teach your children about libraries, use their services, talk to a librarian.  Before you know it, you will be a more active (and better read) member of your community!

OUR PANEL:

Tonya Oswalt, Young Adult Services Assistant, Bossier Parish Libraries; Bossier City, LA

Shanna Swigert Smith, Teen Librarian, Mesa County Libraries; Grand Junction, CO

Robin Brenner, Reference & Teen Librarian, Brookline Public Library; Brookline, MA

Rachel Kitzmann, Young Adult Librarian, Los Angeles Public Library, Twitter: @libgrrrlla

Lizz Zitron, Outreach Services Librarian, Carthage College Hedberg Library; Kenosha, WI

Kate Vasilik, Adult/Young Adult Librarian, JF Kennedy Public Library; Piscataway, NJ

Jessica Miller, Young Adult Librarian, New Britain Public Library; New Britain, CT

Geri Diorio, Head of Children’s Services and Teen Services Librarian, The Ridgefield Library; Ridgefield, CT

Andrea Ingala, Teen Services/Reference Librarian, Windsor Public Library; Windsor, CT

Elizabeth Corbett, Children’s Librarian, Free Library of Philadelphia; Philadelphia, PA

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