Reach more readers with Libby. The Libby library reading app has everything patrons love about accessing ebooks & audiobooks from their library — and now has even more to offer, including easy onboarding for new users, push notifications so you never miss a hold, unlimited tags to categorize your books your way…and more! In an earlier post, I looked at how libraries help refugees and asylum seekers settle into areas; with inflation causing financial problems for so many, libraries are extending their efforts to help whole communities. Libraries are in a unique position to be able to help people who are struggling financially — they’re free to enter, often located in the centre of a town, and are deliberately set up to be welcoming to more vulnerable groups such as children and elderly people. My local library has a long-established programme where people can come to access computers, and receive help for any IT-related issues that they’re unsure about. Some libraries have teamed up with period poverty charities to provide free menstrual products for anyone who needs them, while others act as a base for local council programmes such as return-to-work schemes. Looking forward to the long, cold winter ahead of us, many libraries are coming up with additional programmes and initiatives to help ease the financial burden on as many people as possible — something they’re planning to tackle in a variety of different ways. When every penny counts, library fines can be a barrier to using the library. Many libraries in the UK have already removed fines for younger children, but according to a recent Guardian article, ‘a survey of libraries in England and Wales found that around half are no longer charging adults late fees on borrowed items’ to make services fully accessible for users for whom a 30p fine could mean having less to eat that week. While the fact that such a thing as a “warm bank” is necessary is a horrifying indictment of how bad things have become under austerity and late-stage capitalism, it’s reassuring that, once again, libraries are stepping up for their communities. For more stories on how libraries and librarians are taking on unfair and damaging politics, read our article on how Brooklyn library offered access to banned ebooks to teens across the USA. Or, to learn more about how libraries are helping working parents, check out our post on Fairfield Library’s work and play stations.
