Public libraries are home of knowledge and accessible to all citizens of the society at a very nominal cost. Generally, the upkeep and maintenance of the library is in the hand of the local municipal government and it is funded through public taxes. Like any other issue where government and public money is involved, the topic whether public libraries are necessary or waste of time also generates polarised opinions in the public. On one hand there are those who tout the benefits of the libraries to the public and on the other hand there are those who can only see the libraries as government wasting away public money.
Public libraries have many benefit to the society and especially to the poor and marginalised. In this system, since the funding for the library is provided through the public taxes, everyone contributes and therefore the cost to individual for access to books and other education material goes down. In a library, one can have access to thousands of books without cost and use them to improve one’s skills and knowledge. And it is common knowledge that one rarely forgets which one reads because his/her own interest. In fact, the great American founding father Benjamin Franklin believed that public libraries could improve the citizenry at large and started the first subscription library in America. He himself attributed his success to the books which he read on his own and used them for self-improvement.
In fact, many people today believe that one does not need to attend college/university if one can read books and apply the principles in real life. Autodidacts like Elon Musk are the stars of the modern success stories and they credit their success to the books which they read in libraries. Another reason why I think libraries are useful is because they provide students or members of society with a place to sit down and read or do their work in a quiet environment. This may not be a big deal for someone who studies in private school or has a caring family but it can mean a world of difference for someone living in a dysfunctional family.
Like with anything which involves government spending, public libraries also face scrutiny from conservative members of the society. However, it is to be noted that their argument that libraries are useless and should be closed is without foundation. Having said that, there are things which can be improved in the public library system. For example, libraries can try to solicit more donations of books, reducing the cost. Or they can try to collect the fines more aggressively. Another way or reducing the cost would be to have minimal staff present or automating some of the renewal or return processes for the borrowed material. Additional savings can be made by soliciting volunteers to work at the library desks instead of the paid staff.
I think the people who say that libraries are waste of money overstate the case. There are however opportunities for being creative and reduce the cost in the libraries – as mentioned above. So in my opinion, people who think libraries are useless and should be closed need to understand the situation from other point of view.
In my opinion public libraries are an important pillar of society and provide access to the poor and rich alike. Although it can be said that it partially helps out the poor a little bit more. I have personally made use of the public library myself and continue to do so on a need to basis. I am very satisfied with the public library system because I would not want to pay for every book I get access to in the library. Also, having access to so much learning material has helped me explore different subjects and find out which one’s interest me. Therefore, my conclusion is this: while there is room for improvement in the public library system I don’t think its a waste of money. 
 Public
 libraries are home of knowledge and accessible to all citizens of the  
society
 at a  
very
 nominal  
cost
.  
Generally
, the upkeep and maintenance of the library is in the hand of the local municipal  
government
 and it  
is funded
 through  
public
 taxes. Like any  
other
 issue where  
government
 and  
public
 money  
is involved
, the topic whether  
public
 libraries are necessary or waste of time  
also
 generates  
polarised
 opinions in the  
public
. On one hand there are those  
who
 tout the benefits of the libraries to the  
public
 and on the  
other
 hand there are those  
who
 can  
only
  see
 the libraries as  
government
 wasting away  
public
 money.
Public libraries have  
many benefit
 to the  
society
 and  
especially
 to the poor and  
marginalised
. In this  
system
, since the funding for the library  
is provided
 through the  
public
 taxes, everyone contributes and  
therefore
 the  
cost
 to individual for  
access
 to  
books
 and  
other
 education material goes down. In a library, one can have  
access
 to thousands of  
books
 without  
cost
 and  
use
 them to  
improve
 one’s  
skills
 and knowledge. And it is common knowledge that one rarely forgets which one  
reads
  because
 his/her  
own
 interest. In fact, the great American founding father Benjamin Franklin believed that  
public
 libraries could  
improve
 the citizenry at large and  
started
 the  
first
 subscription library in America. He himself attributed his success to the  
books
 which he  
read
 on his  
own
 and  
used
 them for self-improvement.
In fact,  
many
  people
  today
 believe that one does not need to attend college/university if one can  
read
  books
 and apply the principles in real life. Autodidacts like Elon Musk are the stars of the modern success  
stories and
 they credit their success to the  
books
 which they  
read
 in libraries. Another reason why I  
think
 libraries are useful is  
because
 they provide students or members of  
society
 with a place to sit down and  
read
 or do their work in a quiet environment. This may not be a  
big
 deal for someone  
who
 studies in private school or has a caring family  
but
 it can mean a world of difference for someone living in a dysfunctional family.
Like with anything which involves  
government
 spending,  
public
 libraries  
also
 face scrutiny from conservative members of the  
society
.  
However
, it is to  
be noted
 that their argument that libraries are useless and should  
be closed
 is without foundation. Having said that, there are things which can be  
improved
 in the  
public
 library  
system
.  
For example
, libraries can try to solicit more donations of  
books
, reducing the  
cost
. Or they can try to collect the fines more  
aggressively
. Another way or reducing the  
cost
 would be to have minimal staff present or automating  
some of the
 renewal or return processes for the borrowed material. Additional savings can  
be made
 by soliciting volunteers to work at the library desks  
instead
 of the paid staff.
I  
think
 the  
people
  who
 say that libraries are waste of money overstate the case. There are  
however
 opportunities for being creative and  
reduce
 the  
cost
 in the libraries  
–
 as mentioned above.  
So
 in my opinion,  
people
  who
  think
 libraries are useless and should  
be closed
 need to understand the situation from  
other
 point of view.
In my opinion  
public
 libraries are an  
important
 pillar of  
society
 and provide  
access
 to the poor and rich alike.  
Although
 it can  
be said
 that it  
partially
  helps
 out the poor a  
little bit
 more. I have  
personally
 made  
use
 of the  
public
 library myself and continue to do  
so
 on a need to basis. I am  
very
 satisfied with the  
public
 library  
system
  because
 I would not want to pay for every  
book
 I  
get
  access
 to in the library.  
Also
, having  
access
 to  
so
 much learning material has  
helped
 me explore  
different
 subjects and find out which one’s interest me.  
Therefore
, my conclusion is this: while there is room for improvement in the  
public
 library  
system
 I don’t  
think
  its
 a waste of money.