{"id":31612,"date":"2025-04-28T09:05:15","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T16:05:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?post_type=blog&p=31612"},"modified":"2025-05-13T14:13:19","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T21:13:19","slug":"more-than-books-10-different-ways-public-libraries-make-our-lives-better","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blog\/more-than-books-10-different-ways-public-libraries-make-our-lives-better\/","title":{"rendered":"More Than Books: 10 Different Ways Public Libraries Make Our Lives Better"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Anthony Ha<\/strong><\/h5>\n
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With the internet putting a seemingly infinite supply of answers, arguments, and amusements at our fingertips, do we still need libraries?<\/p>\n

The question isn\u2019t as rhetorical as it once seemed. As shown in Free For All: The Public Library<\/a><\/em>, libraries currently face the twin threats of budget cuts and a wave of censorship<\/a>. So it\u2019s more important than ever to explain why the nation needs them.<\/p>\n

Any answer must begin, of course, with books. Lending books is at the core of any good library\u2019s mission\u2014hence the logical outcry whenever a renovation or redesign treats books as an afterthought,<\/a> especially if it seems to be displacing books with computers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by The New York Public Library (@nypl)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n