I remember as a kid in the 80s going to the library and looking around and seeing people actually reading books. Now in 2025 I go to a library and I see a lot of books but what do I see around me? People at computers on facebook, instagram etc. People sitting and mindlessly scrolling on their smartphones, it is honestly sickening what I see on a daily basis.
It is amazing to me how teachers, parents, etc all complain that kids don’t read anymore yet why would they? When they look around all the people they look up to are on devices, all day long, every where a child looks an adult is on a smartphone.
Children model what they see, and what they see around them on a daily basis are adults wasting their lives away on devices. It is a sad state of affairs.
Honestly what libraries are you going to? I go to the college libraries and all I see is people studying. Mostly people go on their phones to break from the study but nowadays, students study on their computers! I agree though that things aren’t what they use to be. The public libraries are probably worse…
I personally confirmed this over the weekend. I got an AM/FM/HD radio for Christmas. While listening to a local talk-radio program, I realized that I missed something that the host said. I thought, “No problem. I will rewind the … Oh, wait! That is live radio, not a podcast!”
Now I am using my radio to re-expand my attention span.
At my local public library they offer free wifi so there are always people on their devices there. Also free computer sessions and they have a colour printer you can use too. I know in my community this is a valuable area for many people.
They also encourage ocmmunity engagement through daily kids storytime (where someone reads a picture book to groups of kids), and for the big kids (and tiny adults) they have creative and ‘learn-to’ classes for small groups, which anyone can attend for free. Anything from crochet to self-publishing to learning to grow veggies at home to composting…
Aaaaaand they have cabinets and wall space that local artisans can book (again for free!) to display and sell their creations through. It’s awesome and I’m grateful for it!
Do public libraries where you guys are also offer local community engagement things?
I’m on the Board of Trustees of our local Friends of the Library organization. We basically raise money and give it to the library so they can fund programs where city funds are insufficient, as well as volunteering to host book sales and help with other events. Our library is becoming (but is not yet fully, at least not as much as we have potential to be) a community gathering space and resource. We have events that encourage literacy, particularly for underprivileged parents of young children, but the library also has all the technology you might expect, and then some. In recent years, they’ve invested in 3D printers and other technologies to allow part of the library to be a community “maker space”. And there are plenty of programs, as has been mentioned by others, for educational learning (whether practical or academic) and self-improvement.
Yes, there are always a ton of people on their phones. One encouraging thing I see, though, is that many teenagers are explicitly not on their phones - they are in the teen area, interacting, laughing together (which sometimes annoys some older patrons, and makes me smile - both their laughter and the others’ annoyance), and being in the moment with face-to-face interactions.
We’ve participated in author-events, Murder Mystery nights, and even an Escape Room at our library. Our library is very cognizant about the need for humans to interact with humans, which sometimes means interacting through devices.
Rather than filling me with angst about the amount of technology being used there, our library gives me some hope for humanity. Libraries can do a lot for teaching the proper uses of technology as a means toward human interaction.
