Ann Arbor has an impressive history with education and public learning. It is important here. It remains the cornerstone to a solid community foundation. Not least of the tools in Ann Arbor, public libraries, good, healthy, robust libraries, are essential to this building and forward vision.
Interior of Ann Arbor's Traverwood Public Library. by A. Piper
What’s the deal with the library article though?
What do libraries have to do with real estate?
Surely little and less. Whatever public or personal perception of these institutions may be in modern America, one thing remains certain: the library is a central tool in forming and sustaining a community.
More than most things building a library or leaving the funding available to keep one open says that this community is serious about it’s growth and development. That, here in this city, people will be able to learn and share ideas under a common roof provided for the by the institution of government. For free.
This is not so radical an idea today. We browse the internet for literally endless amounts of information that become available instantly. What a tremendous agent of democracy; a global forum, uncensored and for the time being protected from the forces of evil by the citizenry itself. A perfect replacement for the dusty old way. For the library.
Where you live, what you do and how you do it, all are affected by the internet in someway in today’s America. It is an entity, while a library in contrast is a symbol as much as it is a tool. Having one signifies that the government is not only willing to share information with us, but that they are willing to give it to us, that knowledge and information are deemed important and relevant to a society, and that people ought to have the best possible means of access to the information for free in order to participate.
Until cities, municipalities, towns and villages begin providing uncensored, free internet. When it becomes a trend, and not just a splashy headline. When every citizen has access to the internet for free, like walking into a public building. Please don’t stop building or caring for our nations libraries.
Ann Arbor has fantastic public libraries and because of their often over looked roll in community building Ann Arbor Real Estate Watch will be focusing on them briefly over the next week. Stay tuned and don’t forget to like us on Facebook for more updates and interesting Ann Arbor real estate news and info. Δ John Fenton
