VIDEO: The Importance Of Libraries To Communities

WINSTON COUNTY, Miss.(WCBI)—Once upon a time, if you needed to find information or the answer to a question, you would head over to the library.

Now, with the era of internet and technology it seems that a library’s purpose is starting to fade.

“It’s a great gathering place for all kinds of people whether they are young, old, in between,” said local business owner Mary Snow.

For hundreds of years now, a library’s purpose has been to offer written literature on all topics. Winston County librarian Beth Edwards, says since then, libraries have evolved to meet the needs of the communities.

“There are so many people who can’t afford devices or afford a lot of the things that are used for social media and we provide those here. Not only do we have books and audio books we have e-books, audio e-books, that you can download. We are the only place in the county that provides free public access to internet,”said Edwards.

Snow visits the library often. She is thankful for the library because it encourages people to get to know other residents.

“They offer a sense of community because, often ,we just sit at home on our kindle, our computers, and our phones. It separates us,”said Snow.

Edwards says the myth that libraries have no place in a community is just that, a myth.

“We are not a large county. We only have 19,000 people here in Winston County. Guess how many people on average come through our doors, 5500,on average. It’s like I said, we are the only resource for these people. They do online job applications, job searches, if they want any government assistance you have to go online for that,”said Snow.

During one of the toughest times in Winston County history, Edwards say the library was a very present help.

” After the tornado, April 28th, several years ago, MEMA and FEMA made this library their head quarters . The day it happened a lot of phone lines were down, We had people lined up at the front door to come in early that morning to get on the computers since we did have power. Residents wanted to let their loved ones know they were ok,”said Edwards.

Edward says one of the most important factors a library has that a Kindle doesn’t are the workers, ready to greet you with a friendly, smiling faces.

“They were the most wonderful people. They are so supportive, they make everyone feel like you just walked into someone’s home. We just do everything we can to provide the services that they need,”said Edwards.

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