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Public library

Breaking Ground

Libraries are essential for internet access, even as national broadband projects ramp up

by Kai Ryssdal and Sarah Leeson
Aug 23, 2024
The federal government wants to bring fiber connections to every home. In the meantime, some areas will still rely on the library.
Debra Lawson, director of the Spencer County Public Library, says she doesn't know what some patrons would do without the library's internet access. "The way they use our computers, they're participating in society," she says.
Andie Corban/Marketplace
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This Tennessee library can offer more services — when it pays as much as McDonald's

by Kai Ryssdal and Richard Cunningham
Oct 3, 2022
“We don't have enough people to add new things," like social services, says the director of the Marshall County Memorial system.
"We have people who come to the library who need help with housing or help with food," says Jennifer Pearson, director of the Marshall County Memorial Library System.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
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It checks out — libraries are an "investment that's well worth it"

by David Brancaccio , Chris Farrell , Erika Soderstrom and Daniel Shin
Jul 20, 2021
Marketplace senior economics contributor Chris Farrell discusses how these social institutions continue to give back to communities.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
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Libraries and social services go hand and hand, especially in the pandemic

by Kai Ryssdal and Alli Fam
Sep 16, 2020
We check in with a Tennessee librarian whose staff is helping patrons with computers and virtual schooling.
"I want to see the library lively. I want to see the programs back," says Jennifer Pearson, director of the Marshall County Memorial Library. Above, she stands in the middle of her staff.
Courtesy of Jennifer Pearson.
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In Denmark, long opening hours for unstaffed libraries

by John Laurenson
Apr 3, 2019
Almost half of Denmark's libraries are open 24 hours a day.
Almost half of Denmark's libraries are open 24 hours a day.
Golden_Brown/iStock/Getty Images Plus
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