LONG BRANCH, NJ – As Americans use at-home and online resources to access the services once provided by public libraries, fewer people are actually using libraries. That has made the entire New Jersey library almost obsolete in most communities across New Jersey.
Books can be read online. News is consumed online. There’s virtually little need for expensive brick and mortar libraries, but at the height of a pandemic of a highly transmissible disease, Governor Murphy would like to see more New Jerseyans utilize the state’s outdated and expensive public library system.
Murphy said the decline of the New Jersey public library system coincides with an “attack on democracy”, referring to the January 6th, 2021 incursion at the U.S. Capitol.
“If more people spent more time in libraries and less time online listening to talking heads on television, our democracy will not be facing existential threats it is today,” Murphy declared.
With services such as Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home, Americans no longer need to drive to a library to find answers to questions or to research school reports.
Murphy announced a second round of investments into the public library system approved by a 2017 ballot referendum. Murphy pledged $37 million to update libraries and library technology across the state.
“Investing in our libraries is just as critical as investing in our schools,” Murphy said. “The library is where the concept of lifetime learning is celebrated. There are few purer family outings than a pubic library.”