Could You Choose Between a Library and a Police Station?

Source: RawPixel/Pixabay

I’m glad that I don’t live in McFarland, California. It was the feature of an NYT article¹ on what was more important to the town–a library or expanding a police station. What saddened me most was the phrase ascribed to a town member who dismissed the library as "primarily for babysitting" as if babysitting was not important.

The images taken in the library show children playing games together, talking around a table, and just sitting together. Another showed a librarian putting books back on the shelves.

I live a continent away from McFarland, CA, and I don’t understand their issues of safety. But I do recognize what is happening in the library. It is a safe place for children to congregate and be exposed to an environment usually thought of as building good citizens. Thomas Jefferson said that he couldn’t live without books.

I don’t know enough about McFarland to argue one way or another for their specific situation. What I want to do is talk about the value of a community to having a place for children to go that is not just safe but also edifying.

If a town is concerned with public safety, it must also be concerned with forming children who can handle disruption resiliently. In my work, resilience is about having the curiosity to explore options, the knowledge to look at the options when the unexpected occurs to decide how to move on, the confidence to make the decision from a strong sense of self, and the social support that builds hope.

The Library and Confidence

Simply being offered resources for their use is a signal to children that they are important, and this builds a sense of identity. When I look at what builds and nurtures resilience, it includes a sense of confidence. Confidence builds many things, including competence, creativity, and resilience.² Confidence creates an inner strength to stand firm when you feel pressure. It’s like the roots of a tree that holds it in place when the winds blow.

The Library, Learning, and Curiosity

Simply being surrounded by books is a signal that learning is valuable and that curiosity is important. Being surrounded by books also means that books are for everyone and no longer the realm of those with money. That means that access to knowledge is also available – that curiosity can be assuaged often by exploring books. With more and more knowledge a sense of competence grows that says that when something new happens, you just may have the necessary knowledge to deal with it. And if you don’t, you know where to go to get the information.

The Library and Social Support

Sports are often the vehicle for building social support through the team. But not all children are involved in sports. Simply being able to play and talk with peers is a signal–and a practice–that says that personal relationships are important and that they can be found outside of sports and even the family unit. A strong community is one where relationships are strong, and resilience is high.

There was a wonderful story of a New England town that suffered from a hurricane. Before the storm, the town had spent time building relationships across the community (social support) so that when the storm hit and someone needed something. There was no hesitation to supply the need because it was already known (knowledge) who could supply it, and there was common sense that it served the community (strong identity) and the individual with the particular need. This community recovered faster than others. It was more resilient.

I cannot argue against the need for safety. But I can argue that if the library can build resilience in our children, it will serve the community as it serves the children with something they will value their entire lives. If this is babysitting, it feels very important and valuable.