Fewer people are reading books these days. Therefore we should close all libraries and use the funds for something more urgent like healthcare. Do you agree or disagree?

Fewer people are reading books these days. Therefore we should close all libraries and use the funds for something more urgent like healthcare. Do you agree or disagree? I was in the city recently, and I walked past a derelict building which used to serve as a library. Not far away, another dilapidated one stood waiting to be demolished so that a hospital or a school could be erected in its place, as the locals told me there. I wished policy makers had paid more attention to the role of libraries before making such decisions. To start with, libraries can bridge the gap between the highly-educated and the under-educated. Many people throughout the world, especially in poor countries, still rely on public libraries as their primary source of information and education. Not only do they make use of a large number of books at libraries, but they also use the internet provided there. Furthermore, fewer libraries means discouraging people who are eager to read and study but who cannot find a calm and peaceful place to do so. For instance, there used to be a small library in my neighborhood, which some people, even the elderly, attended regularly. But after its closure, the majority of the members did not bother with taking longer journeys to other libraries. That said, it should also be admitted that in deprived areas whose populations are in dire need of more urgent services such as basic healthcare and schools, libraries could be considered a lesser priority. It is no exaggeration to say that such deprivations may well dampen the enthusiasm for reading books, let alone visiting the local library. For example, in the Sistan and Baluchestan province in Iran, there are areas where students have to travel more than two hours to get to their “schools”, and many people there have to go to the larger cities for medical treatments. Thus, it would be hard to justify keeping, and spending money on, public libraries in such circumstances. To sump up, having weighed up the pros and cons of closing libraries, it is obvious that such policy would negatively impact people to whom libraries are important learning facilities providing various services for the local community. Nevertheless, insisting on keeping libraries while people struggle with their basic necessities cannot be an effective policy.