By Amber Covington

Rowan Public Library

Libraries have a place in every community. They are a place where people gather for meetings, exchange ideas, attend events for all ages. Libraries provide storage for masses of books and are dedicated to ensuring everyone has access to new and emerging digital tools.

Each day the library is open, a group of students finds a place to study after school; teachers have meetings outside of school campuses; students find books for pleasure reading or a rare history book to complete research for an assignment.

A job seeker can research jobs on a computer and complete online applications while another finds books for examples of resumes and then goes to the computer lab to create one.

The newspaper readers gather each morning to read the latest news and swap the paper with someone else once they have finished. Meanwhile, children go in and out of the children’s area with parents and caregivers for daily storytimes.

At the top of the building, neighbors gather to research the previous owners of their homes and the marks they left upon the community, while in the center of the building, a constant sound of people talking and books being returned and checked out happens in the circulation area.

This is a glimpse of the action of many people who trek to the headquarters library branch in Salisbury each day. Many are community members who need to use a computer, free wifi, need a meeting space or an endless supply of books to finish a home, personal or school project.

As a building, the library provides a place for people to relax and meet to share ideas and gather knowledge.

Books and digital subscription databases are constantly purchased or renewed and library card users are key to shaping the types of materials offered at the library. Users are the key to keeping the library functioning as a community resource that provides access to the world by sharing knowledge in digital and print resources, offering community events, computer access, digital tools and meeting spaces.

Free and open access to resources provided by the library allows the community to share ideas and increase appreciation for each other. People using the library’s resources are from a range of socio-economic backgrounds and support sharing knowledge and building the community each time they visit, volunteer or donate.

Using the library is critical for adults to show the need for an organization dedicated to providing free and open access. Using the library will help children grow into adults and become leading citizens in the community who recognize the ways libraries change lives.

Rowan Public Library headquarters and branches will be closed Dec. 25-27, with regular hours resuming Dec. 28.

Through a Soldier’s Eyes: An oral history project at headquarters, East and South. Through Dec. 30, brochures explaining the oral history project, outlining prompts for questions, and offering the contact information for two librarians who can record stories will be distributed at all branches and throughout the community.  These brochures are intended for teens and adults. Nonveterans, particularly teens with friends or family members who served in Vietnam or remember the time period well, are encouraged to use these brochures as guides to engage in conversations that can then be recorded, either on their own or with a librarian’s assistance.

Literacy: Call the Rowan County Literacy Council at 704-216-8266 for more information on teaching or receiving literacy tutoring for English speakers or for those for whom English is a second language.