Some People Think That Public Libraries Are No Longer Important | Band 9 IELTS Essay Sample
Some people think that public libraries are no longer important, while others disagree. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Here is a band 9 IELTS essay on this topic. Need help with IELTS writing? Get your IELTS essays, letters and reports corrected by me.
Band 9 IELTS essay sample
Public libraries used to be the treasure house of knowledge and information but according to some people in this age of the internet they are of no importance. Of course, many people disagree with this view. In my opinion, state funded libraries certainly have become less important than they used to be; however, I cannot support the argument that they are no longer important.
The internet has made state run libraries less important. These days, if you have a device like a smart phone or a computer and an internet connection, you can find up to date information on any topic in a fraction of seconds. Actually, finding information online is a whole lot easier than going to a library and reading voluminous books. Thanks to the search function of the internet, we do not have to turn over pages after pages to find what we want. We just need to type in our query and we get the answer instantly. Needless to say, people who have constant access to the internet no longer visit libraries.
On the other hand, public libraries still serve some valuable purpose. To start with, the information on the internet is relatively new whereas libraries have an impressive collection of old manuscripts that are not available online. Also, much of the information online is in English whereas libraries have a huge collection of books written in a wide variety of languages. What’s more, libraries only keep the best reference books on a topic; by contrast, information found online can be unreliable or false because there is no one to check the veracity of data posted online. For this reason, libraries are still the best source of information for research scholars. Libraries also provide a quiet environment where students can read without facing any distractions.
In conclusion, there is no denying the fact that public libraries have lost some of their importance. Even so, they are still needed because information stored in a library is always reliable and accurate. Also, libraries have old books and manuscripts that are not available online.
Model answer 2 | Band 7.5 IELTS essay sample
Here is a band 7.5 essay on this topic submitted by one of our students.
It is often argued that the government-run libraries are not of much use these days. However, there are others who still feel that public libraries are serving a meaningful purpose in the and also shares my own perspective.
There are two major reasons for the decreasing popularity of public libraries. Firstly, most public libraries are situated at the city center, and people find travelling to these libraries for borrowing a book quite cumbersome due to their busy schedule and frequent traffic congestion on the roads. Secondly, with the advent of the Internet and the proliferation of the smartphones ample information is available online, so there is no point in spending time in the library. For example, if a student wants to learn about the solar system, he might find a few books related to this topic in the library. On the other hand, if he looks looks it up on the web, he is likely to find abundant resources.
Despite the above mentioned reasons, there are several persuasive arguments in favour of the importance of public libraries. To begin with, not everyone can afford an expensive smart phone and the Internet, particularly students from economically disadvantaged families. For instance, my house cleaner’s son often visits the nearby public library in order to get free books, which his father cannot afford to buy with the meagre salary he earns. Furthermore, these libraries represent the history of the city. When a tourist goes to a new place, he can visit a public library to pick up a map of the city or to learn about the history of the place.
In conclusion, I believe both arguments are relevant. On balance, in my opinion government-run libraries are becoming obsolete because of the advancement in information technology and the lack of time as the general public finds it time-consuming to go to a library. Even so, libraries are helpful for people who cannot access the internet.
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There was a time when anyone who is even remotely connected to education, research or teaching profession would spend large amount of time in a library. But since the widespread availability of internet, the whole world of knowledge is available at our fingertips – on the cellphones or computers, because of which many people have started to believe that public libraries are no more required. Even if it is true that the use of public libraries is reduced, I cannot dismiss the need of public libraries.
Since very long, public libraries are an integral part of civilized societies. This is the place which provides any common person the access to all the knowledge, literature and information at a very nominal or free of cost. There are various examples of great personalities, who built the foundation of their successful careers by studying in public libraries.
However, in recent years, internet is available on computers and cellphones. There are a number of websites, portals or blogs which provide a great deal of knowledge and information at free of cost, due to which many people believe that it is unnecessary to spend the state money on public libraries.
Instead, in my opinion, public libraries should be equipped with computers and internet, to advance with the time. In addition, all the contents of public libraries should be made available online, which can be accessed from anywhere. This will encourage people to make use of this trusted source of knowledge instead of believing or referring everything that is put up on internet.
To conclude, even if less number of people use public libraries now a days, there is no denying of the fact that libraries are required for lot of people in society and the state should continue to maintain them.
This seems band 6.5 to me.
Very nice examples. Thank you.