Libraries aren’t just about borrowing books; they offer a sense of community

Throughout my life, my visits to the library have been relatively transactional. I chose books as a child, then CDs as a teenager and took them home to obsess over for a limited period of time. I returned it and started the process again. I stopped until one day.

As a freelancer, in recent years I’ve come to think of the library as a place where I can grab my laptop and do the same things I do at home; just with air conditioning and more people around me to motivate myself to productivity.

I knew there was more to it than that, but I never really found myself needing everything I could find and do at the library. I suppose this could be a sign of luck or privilege; It covers a range of “more” supports available in libraries. Help navigate complex technology or forms in a language you don’t speak. Meet face to face with a helpful social worker. All kinds of problems are solved in our city libraries.

I don’t always open email newsletters from Yarra Libraries, but when they sent out a newsletter on December 1st – the first day of summer on paper and one of the unseasonably cool days we’ve had in Melbourne – with the subject line “Keep calm and be creative”, I laughed a little as I scrolled through the page. He described the importance of air-conditioned spaces “for older adults, children, those with poor insulation, and people who have no place to call home,” and noted that some facilities would remain open afterward “to offer the community a safe place to stay.” This was more than just a place to sit and send emails.

Announced events included a screening of an Arabic film, a lecture on digitizing photographs, a session where new English speakers could hone their skills, and book events for writers and readers. In the middle of the list was news of a sewing club. With a growing pile of stuff I needed to fix and couldn’t do after selling my old clunky sewing machine while moving house, I signed up and clocked out on a Monday morning.

The librarian greeted me when I arrived and told me she was taking care of the regular sewing club owner who was ill. “This is my first time here, so all I know is you!” I reassured him.

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I was the only newbie; the other three sewers were regulars. They attended classes to make their own tote bags, came eager to learn new skills, and collected family members’ repairs to have something to do when they arrived. Any assumptions that I would sit in a chair at a machine to complete my tasks and go home were immediately put to rest.

The regulars all knew each other and wanted to get to know me, too. I didn’t have time to feel like a meddler; They immediately welcomed me.