Public Libraries: the new social safety net

A Policy Alternatives report by Lisa Freeman

Public libraries in British Columbia are evolving beyond spaces of quiet contemplation, equipped with card catalogues and encyclopaedias. In a time of increased Internet use and communication via social media, the way we access knowledge and use the library is changing. We are seeing digital storytelling and inspiration labs, access to design software, e-readers and digital book lending, yoga classes, and purpose-designed ‘living room’ areas in our libraries. For the most part, these changes are welcmed.

But other changes are taking place that, unfortunately, are more difficult to resolve. Increasingly, the types of knowledge people seek are changing. Questions about housing, immigrant support services, governmental forms, and job skills are increasingly answered using information provided at the library. But should they be?

Libraries across the province are filling the gaps left by decades of cuts to funding for important programs and services. In many ways, public libraries are providing a social safety net for the most marginalized people in our province—working on the front lines in the fight against poverty, and grappling with difficult questions regarding homelessness, poverty and public space.

• Read the full report here