Have you ever wondered how people did anything before the internet? Or how convenient it is to have all the information you could ever want at your fingertips? Well, you actually have access to a lot more than you realize, if you have a library card that is. Even if you can afford access to all the art and education one could wish for, that is not true of everyone, and supporting the less fortunate is the role of the privileged.
Libraries serve a wide range of diverse populations – immigrants who are trying to improve their English skills, homeless people, youth and mothers with young children. Everyone fits in at the library. Franklin Roosevelt, who instituted policies that are the furthest left of any president in American history, said “Libraries are essential to the functioning of a democratic society … libraries are the great symbols of the freedom of the mind”.
Besides the obvious benefits of accessibility, it is also one of the few places where you can exist for free, and it’s a great study spot because of their free wifi. Two thirds of Americans say closing their local library would have a major impact on their community. Libraries are a hub for learning, engagement and community building. Not to mention they’re sustainable! With technology becoming more and more prevalent in both our professional and personal lives, libraries offering access to technology for free is a boost to their digital literacy, and thus their lives. Especially with the threat of fascism and the war on facts, places of learning especially places as accessible as the library, are institutions we need to do our best as a nation to uphold.
More specifically, every student at The New School should seek out an NY library card. First off, they’re free. When I got my library card this week, it took less than five minutes, and I got a free tote bag! (bonus: it’s TNS colors!). There are over 143 branches across the boroughs, so knowledge is always right around the corner, including four in the Greenwich/West Village area! Libraries offer endless possibilities for bettering yourself. They provide free programs such as English classes, sewing classes, and film screenings, so options for expanding your horizons at the library are many, even if you exclude books.
Maybe that movie you need to watch for class is available for rent at your public library. They also recently unveiled a program called The Culture Pass where using your library card, you can purchase free tickets to museums like the MET, MOMA, the drawing center, and international photography show. New School students are known for their love of art, and their love of social justice. By getting a library card, you’re expanding your artistic and intellectual sensibilities, as well as being of the community. The first line of The New School mission statement is “The New School prepares students to understand, contribute to, and succeed in a rapidly changing society, thus making the world a better and juster place.” While I believe every American should show support for our libraries, I think The New School’s devotion to making the world and ourselves better means we should regard libraries as the key to the world we all want to live in.