2024 has been dubbed a ‘super year’ for elections. In fact, it’s the biggest election year in human history, with around half the world’s population scheduled to go to the polls across 72 countries.
For those of us living in established democracies the opportunity to cast our vote is easily taken for granted, but the 3.7 billion people voting this year will do so in an increasingly divided and unequal world.
Australia consistently ranks in the top 10 strongest democracies in the world, but we are not immune to the forces challenging governments and tugging at the edges of the institutions established to uphold our democracy. Arguably our strength fosters a complacency and a certain blindness as to why disinformation, polarisation, bias and shrinking civic spaces are dangerous and corrosive.
15 September is International Day of Democracy. It is a reminder to take a moment to reflect on how our democracy impacts our everyday lives. Furthermore, it is an opportune moment to celebrate the multi-faceted role libraries play in strengthening our civic fabric.
Libraries are free, public spaces to access and explore information and ideas. They uphold intellectual freedom. They are stewards of social, cultural and intellectual heritage and support lifelong learning. Libraries are community hubs, bringing people together in organised and unexpected ways. They are full of trusted experts, of art, music and culture. Importantly, they are places to discover, imagine and to simply be.
So visit your local library, dive into a collection of something you’ve always wanted to know more about, participate in an event, wander through an exhibition, and ask a librarian a question. It’s free.
If you’re a Queensland resident you can become a member of State Library by following this link.
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