Library, where you can find information that doesn't exist online
Even though I prefer reading ebooks borrowed from my library app (Libby) these days, I still visit libraries in different places because of their architecture, interior design and especially local information which is not available online.
For example, in Upper Norwood Library Hub operated by Lambeth Libraries, there is a book called Crystal Palace — Norwood Heights: A Pictorial Record including sketches done in 1980s.
Thus I am heartbreaking when I read a news report of how books were treated when closing a library. Refer to The Standard: Outrage as hundreds of books dumped on south London streets after controversial library closure.
This can be avoided! While I understand the reallocation of resources is essential, I don’t think closing libraries is the only solution. As I said before, there are many ways to transform or “upgrade” a library to attract more people, and now I want to add that the opening hours can cover evening times too, in order to make office, knowledge workers visit after work.
Alternatively, a library can be a part of any architecture rather than the whole, by embedding it into a train station, a shopping mall, a bus station, a restaurant… and you name it.
The news does remind me that closing a library can lead to destroying culture and valuable information. When we look at libraries in different parts of the world, like Helsinki Central Library Oodi, a library still has its place under the digital age!
