Your Library Corner: Get loud for libraries

By: Brandi Gillett

Once a year, public libraries across Ontario take a week to celebrate what they mean to the communities they serve. This year, Ontario Public Library Week takes place Oct. 18 to 24. It is a chance to recognize the people, places and possibilities that make libraries such an important part of community life.

This year's theme is Get Loud for Libraries.

It's an interesting theme for a library.

Libraries are, after all, typically quiet places. But perhaps getting loud isn't really about making noise. Perhaps it's about making sure people hear what libraries mean to a community.

This year is a particularly meaningful one for Stratford Public Library. While our current building has stood on St. Andrew Street since 1903, Stratford has had a public library for 180 years, ever since the Mechanics’ Institute opened in 1846.

Think about that for a moment.

For 180 years, through wars, economic uncertainty, technological revolutions and enormous social change, this community has continued to support the idea that everyone should have free access to knowledge, learning and opportunity.

That's a remarkable legacy.

And it continues every day.

A child comes looking for a book and discovers a love of reading.

A newcomer comes looking for information and begins to feel a little more at home.

Someone comes in needing help with technology and leaves knowing how to take the next step.

And sometimes, someone comes through the doors because they simply need somewhere to be.

That last one may be the easiest to overlook.

A public library is one of the few places in a community where you can walk through the door without needing to buy something, make an appointment or explain why you're there. You can be curious. You can be uncertain. You can be having a difficult day. You can be looking for something, or nothing at all.

You are still welcome.

That is a powerful thing.

Libraries are often measured by numbers: more than 400,000 books borrowed each year, hundreds of programs attended, and more than 500 people coming through our doors every day. Those numbers matter, but they are only part of the story.

What matters most is what happens after someone walks through the door.

Confidence grows. Skills develop. Connections are made. Horizons expand. People discover information, opportunities and sometimes an entire community waiting to welcome them.

For 180 years, Stratford's library has helped people do exactly that.

So this week, let's get loud for libraries.

Tell someone what the library has meant to you. Share a favourite memory. Recommend a book. Bring someone through the doors who hasn't been in a while.

Because libraries aren't simply buildings that hold books.

They are places that hold possibilities.

And for 180 years, Stratford has chosen to make sure those possibilities belong to everyone.

That is worth celebrating.

And during Ontario Public Library Week, Oct. 18 to 24, that's certainly worth getting loud about.