Library Closures Are Stealing From Our Future

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I believe words have great power over us. They can hurt, manipulate and even perfect us. They allow development and education; influence us and help broaden our horizons. Library closures cut off our access to the main source of words. Books. With literacy rates in United Kingdom decreasing, why do libraries make up less than 1% of councils’ spending? Why are we being robbed of the freedom of reading? Deprived of something we have the basic right to? Something which could unlock a better future for everyone.

Books are gateways to bettering yourself and an escape when you can no longer bear what surrounds you. Fiction show us new worlds and expands our creativity. It shows our everyday world in a way that we didn’t perceive it before. In words of author Neil Gaiman, “[Fiction] opens a door, shows the sunlight outside, gives you a place to go where you are in control, are with people you want to be with […] books can also give you knowledge about the world and your predicament, give you weapons, give you armour: real things you can take back…” Books are a great way to deal with issues we encounter everyday. As a teenager you’re still developing, still looking for who you truly are, looking for answers to questions. Books speak to you, instead of around you. They address your problems and show you’re not alone. As a teenager the knowledge that you’re not in solitude is extremely important, especially since we live in a world of such anxiety. Library closures deny this access to books, the simplest and most enjoyable of tools to deal with your life’s problems and doubts. It’s simple. Libraries must not close.

One of the biggest, and at the same time most inaccurate, argument for libraries’ lack of importance is that paper is dead anyway.  I'm not exaggerating, when I say it's a huge exaggeration. It is claimed physical books are going to be replaced with various e-readers. Is that really the case? Despite everything, the answer is no. Physical books will not meet their end for a long time. One of the reasons is the better comprehension of a text when reading a physical book. A reading device provides too many distractions. Your favourite game or a social app you like. It sucks away the attention from what you truly planned to do. A physical book keeps you focused on your task. There's really little to do with a book, other than the act of reading itself. A physical book ignites all senses. The smell of them, the feel of them under your hands, the sound of turning the pages, the thud of closing the book after you finish it. This is the sound of satisfaction that an e-reader will never be able to replicate. All of this is what makes the reading experience so enjoyable, and so unique to every reader. An e-reader is a cold, metallic, slick device that will never be anything else but an electronic device taking away from the reader's experience. It is essential to preserve libraries as they are the treasure chest where you can find little pearls you wouldn't otherwise discover. The experience of reading is something an e-reader will never be able to recreate, but that libraries understand. Besides, physical books never run out of batteries.

It has been proved that children who have free access to books, regardless of their socio-economic background, are higher achievers than those who read narrowly and rarely. What follows is that those children grow up to be responsible and literate adults that have a better chance of safe and comfortable lives, something that the children who have not read extensively will have a much more harder time in achieving. How then are these kids supposed to access books daily when the number of library closures is steadily increasing? With about 600 libraries already closed or under threat of closing the answer is simple. They can’t. For that very reason the closures of libraries is stealing their future.

There are many reasons why libraries should be preserved one of them being not only the free access to books, but also the Internet. According to the Office of National Statistics about 23% of our population does not have Internet access. This same group of people needs that public access the most. Libraries meet the needs of people. Leaving aside the books, lack of Internet access can decrease exam results by a grade. The prospect of almost a quarter of the population having their results reduced, because of being unable to afford Internet, is terrifying. United Nations have declared Internet access a human right, enabling individuals to exercise and enjoy their rights to freedom of opinion and expression. Library closures deny that access to over 5.4 million households. Why should they be robbed of things that so many people recognise as a basic everyday tool for obtaining information?

An argument for the closures of the libraries is that books are ‘cheap’. ‘Cheap’ is a relative word. A book is cheap if you can afford it. Honestly, I’d love to be on the gravy train and spend all my money on books. I think it would be absolutely brilliant. Unfortunately, with reading three to five books every week, no matter how much I’d want to, I cannot do that. And neither can the parents of little children, or the elderly, or any human with a mediocre income for that matter. The institution all these people who wish to expand and learn about new worlds, characters and ideas need are libraries. If an average book costs £8 and a person like me reads about four books per week that costs of £32 a week, £128 a month, £1664 a year, £16.640 a decade and so on. It is impossible. ‘Cheap’ is only affordable if you have money to spare.

Another argument for library closures is that the number of visits is decreasing.  The answer to this is promoting the many services that libraries have to offer. However, the answer the government has came up with is closing local libraries altogether. The possibility of visiting them is cut off, and so it cannot decrease further. Isn't that ironic?

Libraries are not only buildings filled with bookshelves, which in turn are filled with books, they are a community space where you will always get professional help. Unlike the Internet, where you’re only valuable if you agree with the opinions of the majority in libraries your opinion is listened to. Your ability to think for yourself is embraced, encouraged and considered valuable in these places where information, wisdom and culture are stored and appreciated. If you’re ignoring that and closing these wonderful and resourceful places, you’re rejecting our past; what people before us held dear, their hopes and dreams, and at the same time you’re crippling our future.

In 2011 ten sculptures made within book pages were anonymously placed in front of venues associated with literature around the city of Edinburgh. Every sculpture contained a message in support of libraries, books, words and idea. The next summer fifty paper flowers, made out of book pages, were placed all around Edinburgh’s International Book Festival and another five sculptures were commissioned for Book Week Scotland 2012. Every one of these actions urged us to shout about how libraries and other literary places enrich our lives. This local action shows that people want to stop the library closures. They value these places and want to keep them. People believe libraries will persevere. So we must shout. Libraries mustn’t be terminated. They are places of social meetings with people you share interests with, places that open the doors to a brighter future, places that hold books – the most important source of knowledge -  and they are worth fighting for.