In 1833, the first-ever public library opened in Peterborough, New Hampshire. If they could see how much our libraries have changed in today’s day, I’m sure their jaw would drop to the floor.
For a long time, libraries were known to be for adults only, and kids were not to belong in libraries. Today, kids thrive in libraries with many groups, kid reading circles, a whole section dedicated to learning, and books of all fun. Alice in Wonderland, Diary of the Wimpy Kid, and Harry Potter are among the few that kids enjoy.
Libraries today welcome the younger generation with warm, open arms; we wouldn’t want it any other way. I mean, Matilda wouldn’t have gotten her powers if it wasn’t for the public library.
1932 was the year checkouts started to go electric; before this, the two-card system worked just fine. But breaking into the electronic world, checkouts began to become faster and easier with the new electronic advancements the world had to offer.
We’re speaking of all of this electronic advancement in the library; what about having a whole library online? Yep, that’s right. Today we have so much accessibility with libraries being online and being able to look up books with our smartphones that we keep in our back pocket. The first online library began in 1991 at Carnegie Mellon University, the Mercury Electronic Library. The Mercury library set the stage for many more to come.
Now libraries have advanced as far as having studios to record podcasts and edit videos, online book clubs, coffee shops, and endless online resources. Oh, we can’t forget free wifi! Next time you step foot in your local library on campus or in your town, take a deep breath and appreciate what we have, as knowledge has come a long way.
