Your Turn: Phoenix library survives a flood, is even more relevant than before Your Turn: Burton Barr Central Library reopens June 16 as a high-tech hub after more than a year of repair work.

Kathleen Ingley and Brenda Thomson | opinion contributors

Not long ago, libraries were seen as dinosaurs. Technology was supposed to blast them into extinction.

It never happened. Technology didn’t doom libraries, it actually made them more important than ever.

Just look at Burton Barr Central Library in Phoenix. Reopening June 16 after nearly a year of repair work, following devastating damage from a broken sprinkler system, it’s far more than a building with books.

It’s a prime example of how today’s library promotes effective use of technology, creates opportunity, boosts education, strengthens community and fuels the economy.

Here’s just a sampling of the library’s many roles:

The library can teach you tech stuff

Lost in an ocean of information on the Internet? Librarians provide the human understanding and expertise to find what you need from trustworthy sources. The library and its website let you connect with databases and archives that aren’t available to individuals.

Children and teens can learn coding, robotics and 3D modeling – high-tech skills that will help them succeed in school and on the job – through programs in which Phoenix libraries are partners.

Burton Barr has a special 5,000-square-foot area, called MACH1, where “Makers, Artists, Crafters, Hackers” can dream up projects and then produce them.

These programs can broaden horizons

With free wi-fi and computers, the library helps level the playing field for people who don’t have that access at home. They can study, search for work, apply for jobs and services, or just play games.

MORE: From crafting to programming, libraries branch out from books

One program helps people trying to get their lives on track after time in prison. It includes help on getting civil liberties (such as voting) restored and filing to have a judgment set aside, steps that can make it easier to find a job or housing.

A wide range of public programs, from jazz performances to monthly chats with scientists, expands people’s horizons. The Phoenix Library system offers more than 1,000 programs and workshops at its 17 locations. And money is never an obstacle to attending.

College help center has doubled in size

Burton Barr has now doubled the size of College Depot, a help center for people of all ages. With one-on-one assistance, it’s steered thousands of people through financial aid and college applications. It offers guidance to adults to get high school equivalency or online degrees.

And education doesn’t stop with a diploma. A person entering the job market today can expect to change jobs 15 times – and those who stay in the same job will need to keep updating their skills. The library not only has a host of online resources, but it also has workforce literacy programs with job and career assistance.

At the other end of the age spectrum, the traditional storytime is just the start of the ways that early education gets a boost. Children happily read aloud to “reading therapy dogs,” without becoming self-conscious about mistakes. Kindergarten Bootcamp, which served more than 960 families in 2017, gives parents and kids the tools to start school on a path to success.

The library even offers social time

As screen time increasingly replaces social time, the library plays a crucial civic role as a place where people can connect.

Libraries are ideal for programs like Arizona Humanities’ AzSpeaks, with speakers on a wide variety of topics, and FRANK talks, expert-facilitated discussions on critical issues (cosponsored by Arizona State Library, Archives & Public Records).

Not only are libraries accessible, neutral, safe spaces, but they also have the resources for anyone who wants more information on a topic.

If you only get a book, you're missing out

The economic impact of libraries is often overlooked. But their educational role alone is significant as an educated workforce is increasingly factors into companies’ decisions to locate or expand.

Now budding entrepreneurs get an extra boost through hive@central, a space to guide them through business plans, loans and all the practical details of starting a business. The success stories include a vegetarian Mexican food truck and a men’s tie company.

You can go to Burton Barr – or any other library – and simply check out a book and leave. But you’ll be missing out on a world of resources and opportunities.

Kathleen Ingley is a freelance writer and former Arizona Republic opinions writer. Brenda Thomson is executive director of AZ Humanities. They are members of the Phoenix Library Advisory Board. Contact: kathleen.ingley@gmail.com or bthomson@azhumanities.org.

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