Public Libraries

PUBLIC LIBRARIES

Public Libraries are also called as circulating libraries. Public Libraries are the libraries accessible by the public. Operated by civil servants, Public Libraries are generally funded from public sources such as tax money. Public Libraries have taxing bodies at any level from local to national and central government. The Public Libraries are an excellent model of government locally controlled for public good. Public Libraries serve every individual freely with the content and quality they want.

Public Libraries are present in most places in the world and often reflect a basic part of having an educated and literate population. Public Libraries are different from research libraries, school libraries, or other special libraries which are created for the purpose to serve public’s information needs generally besides offering material for entertainment and leisure purpose.

Public Libraries supply free services such as preschool story times to encourage early literacy. Public Libraries lend books off the premises on a temporary basis. These libraries also have a non-circulating reference collection. Public Libraries focus primarily on popular materials such as popular fiction and movies along with educational and non-fiction materials of interest to the general public. Public Libraries also offer computer and internet access.

With the growing trend of technology, the Public Libraries are also rendering audio books, e-books, CDs, cassettes, videotapes, DVDs and video games. Public Libraries also provide the general public with inter-library loans (borrowing items from other libraries). They also provide other services such as community meeting rooms, preschool children, or after-school programs, storytelling sessions for infants, and all with a motive of developing early literacy skills.

Public Libraries also provide children with websites on on-line educational programs and games which has gained popularity off late. In addition to its main branch, a Public Library may also have a mobile library serving the countryside according to a regular schedule.