Libraries Live Journal - Journal - Page 1
‘A library outranks any other one thing a community
can do to benefit its people. It is a never-failing spring
in the desert.’
Andrew Carnegie
Introduction
‘A library outranks any other one thing a
community can do to benefit its people.
It is a never-failing spring in the desert.’
Despite this realisation over 100 years
ago from the most prolific library builder,
how do we continue to improve the
importance of libraries?
How do we show we are a cornerstone of
a community?
What happens if not enough feet pass the
threshold of that door to keep it alive?
A community that runs their local library
are the guardians of local connectivity,
the providers of knowledge, a safe space,
loneliness fighters, heritage helpers,
storytellers, rhymers, crafters and
bastions of books.
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Sometimes part of the community
falls through the cracks, not everyone
remembers you are there for them too
and so they need help to reconnect and
make those steps into your space.
‘the involvement of volunteers in
supporting paid staff in running public
libraries can be valuable in augmenting
services available and ensuring close
collaboration and engagement between
public libraries and the community’
Community Managed Libraries Good Practice
Toolkit – June 2018
You can make a change, you can
alter perceptions and lives, you can
enrich your community, you are your
community too. Small steps can make a
difference.