Remember what it used to be like to visit the public library as a child? You walked into hushed rooms with huge shelves of books that towered above your head. There was a section where you could read magazines and newspapers from other areas. The place was marked by tradition, silence and opportunity.
Libraries have changed a lot. You can still find rows and rows of books, but today's libraries have expanded greatly on that resource. They are now community centers for public research, Internet use and cultural activities.
Take Plattsburgh Public Library, for example. The library has a bountiful supply of books, music and movies available for lending. That's clear from the fact that 159,036 books and DVDs were circulated in 2009.
But it is the computer that has most revolutionized the library in Plattsburgh and those all around the region. Most area libraries now have computers available for public use, and better yet, they have staff who can help you track down whatever you are looking for. Last year, patrons of Plattsburgh Public Library logged an average of 592 hours a week of computer use there. Think about that; it's a great testimony to how much that resource is needed.
What you might not realize is that the library is a great equalizer. Most middle-class and affluent families have computers in their homes. They have a world of information at their fingertips. But lower-income families often don't have computers — or an adult with the knowledge to use one. What a disadvantage the children in those families would be at if it weren't for resources like Plattsburgh Public Library, which can put them in touch with a vast resource of information and with books on any subject — absolutely essential for learning today.
It's not just children who need the library. Think of all the genealogy researchers who make use of the library, many of them older residents who might not be as computer savvy. Plattsburgh Public Library has a resource called AncestryPlus that can help them, and 14,000 people used that service in 2009.
And a library helps put a little more culture into the community. Besides the standard children's story hours, area libraries host many events that expand minds just as much as their books do. In the last month alone, Plattsburgh Public Library has hosted artwork exhibits, movie nights, health lectures, Chess Club meetings and poetry workshops — all free.
Plattsburgh Public Library looks a lot better inside now, too, thanks to second-floor renovations made possible by the active Friends of the Library group, state grants, business donations, work from Altona Correctional Facility inmate crews and other supporters.
But while we're thrilled the inside of the library has a more updated look, we're even more enthralled with how much of a difference it has made to the inside of many minds around here.
Opinion
February 24, 2010
EDITORIAL: Library usage higher than ever
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