Federal bill can help improve, rebuild Hampton Roads libraries
When Suffolk’s Morgan Memorial Library was built as a furniture store in the 1950s, no one could have imagined today’s needs for connectivity, technology training labs, makerspaces, accessibility and energy efficiency. Chuckatuck Library, Suffolk’s smallest location, is only 2,000 square feet and originally served as a cafeteria for the neighboring high school.
Libraries are the cornerstones of our communities, offering equitable access to educational advancement, economic opportunity and lifeline services.
But despite the fact that these facilities eventually need to be renovated, repaired or replaced, federal funding for them stopped in 1997.
As Congress looks at an infrastructure package, now is the time to modernize our libraries with the bipartisan Build America’s Libraries Act. If passed, this legislation would dedicate $5 billion to the construction and renovation of libraries nationwide, an estimated $117 million of which would be allocated for Virginia.
Many of our libraries are in repurposed spaces that haven’t been updated and create challenges for modern day use. Portsmouth’s Main Library building opened in 1909 as a post office and custom house. Portsmouth’s Cradock and Manor branches, built between 1960 and 1972, are also repurposed spaces and face electrical outages due to outdated circuits, especially when storms pass the area. Facility upgrades, and repairs from natural disasters, are included in the Build America’s Libraries Act.
With upgrades, our libraries will better meet the needs of our residents and help bridge the digital divide. Computer terminals and loanable technology provide a reliable connection to health care, employment and educational advancement.
Suffolk Public Libraries saw 19,683 computer users and 7,961 Wi-Fi users this past fiscal year, but due to outdated infrastructure the buildings cannot accommodate additional technologies at this time.
The Cradock branch, though always busy, is too small for its community members. It can only accommodate six of the 90 systemwide computers.
New facilities, which the
Build America’s Libraries Act also support, are proven to draw new library users. The Churchland Branch Library opened in 2009, bringing in more community members than the system’s remaining other three branches combined (prior to the pandemic).
We know learning doesn’t end when the school bell rings, and our libraries are essential partners for preschool, afterschool and summer learning programs that boost student achievement and develop lifelong readers. In Newport News, the public library and public schools have partnered to sign up every student for their own library card.
Over the past year, libraries pivoted quickly to offer programming that minimized contact with others, such as curbside pickups, digital classes, Wi-Fi hotspot lending, online story times and outdoor activities. The Smithfield branch of Blackwater Regional Library is currently hosting a story walk downtown, where kids and parents can walk around town and read a children’s book page-by-page on outdoor signs and in storefronts.
Libraries are an essential component of our social infrastructure and, as Americans increasingly return to in-person activities, they will play a vital role in rebuilding community life.
The Build America’s Libraries Act would make an enormous difference for Virginia residents, and bring greater equity of access and service to all of our neighborhoods, not just those with the greatest fiscal resources. Libraries empower people of all ages to explore the world through books, digital access and programs that spark curiosity, knowledge and imagination.
Let’s act now and strengthen and sustain these vital institutions for generations to come.