You don't need money to use the library. You don't need to be 18 or have a passport. There's no dress code. You don't need a driver's license.
You don't need a Grade 12 education. We have lots of members who are still learning how to read and they may have already left school. Your library is the most democratic institution in the western world. Everyone is welcome.
Every library across Canada receives complaints that folk come in off the streets to snooze or put their feet up and relax, that the library is used as a warm place in winter and a cool place in summer to hang out for those with nowhere else to go. Here, paraphrased, is a letter that appeared in the Vancouver Sun last year.
"I used to be one of the homeless who came into the library to get off the streets. The librarians questioned me about my education and ambitions. When they found I had not completed high school, they steered me towards a literacy program, which allowed me to graduate in my own time. I began to love going into my library for all the right reasons. I decided to take a course in librarianship on line. Now, you'll find me at the Main Vancouver Branch, helping patrons select materials and charge them out and helping with the computers, watching out for those, who, as I did, need special attention."
Not all libraries really belong to everyone in a community. Many countries do not have publicly owned libraries. They may have academic libraries but that means that only students, professors and those engaged in educational pursuits may be issued a library card. In some countries you have to phone ahead of time to make an appointment to be admitted.
By being available only to certain classes of society, such libraries ensure that those who toil in the fields will continue to do so. They serve merely the elite. They preserve the status quo instead of being an instrument of change.
Our public libraries help to prevent the stratification of our society. They allow us to access information and services, which can change our lives at any stage of our development. They are an indispensable part of a free society.
