Editing Public library (section)

===Classroom and meeting space===
[[File:20171209 BRASS editathon 01 002.jpg|thumb|Wikipedia [[edit-a-thon]] at BLI:B, a public library in Brussels]]
Public libraries have a long history of functioning as [[community center]]s or [[public space]]s for reading, study and formal and informal public meetings. In 1898, Andrew Carnegie, a prominent library philanthropist, built a library in Homestead, Pennsylvania, where his main steel mills were located. Besides a book collection, it included a bowling alley, an indoor swimming pool, basketball courts and other athletic facilities, a music hall, and numerous meeting rooms for local organizations. It sponsored highly successful semi-pro football and baseball teams.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Patrick B. Miller|author2=David K. Wiggins|title=Sport and the Color Line: Black Athletes and Race Relations in Twentieth Century America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XHiKCLaOLOEC&pg=PA17|year=2004|publisher=Taylor & Francis|page=17|isbn=9780203497456}}</ref> Even before the development of the modern public library, [[subscription libraries]] were often used as clubs or gathering places. They served as much for social gossip and the meeting of friends, as coffee shops do today.<ref>Irwin, Raymond (1964) ''The Heritage of the English Library''. London: George Allen & Unwin, pp. 275-76</ref> Throughout history, public libraries were touted as alternatives to dance halls or gentleman's clubs, and frequently built, organized and supported because of their equalizing and civilizing influence.

Today, in-person and on-line programs for reader development, language learning, homework help, free lectures and cultural performances, and other community service programs are common offerings. The library storytime, in which books are read aloud to children and infants, is a cultural touchstone. Most public libraries offer frequent storytimes, often daily or even several times a day for different age groups. Some libraries have begun offering sensory storytimes for children and adults on the autism spectrum. Sensory storytimes give patrons "more ways to process information", especially considering people on the autism spectrum <ref name="spectrum">{{cite web |url=https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2016/03/01/sensory-storytime-spectrum-libraries-add-services-for-children-with-autism/ |title=Storytime for the Spectrum |last=Cottrell |first=Megan |date=March 1, 2016 |website=American Libraries |access-date=September 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202065210/https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2016/03/01/sensory-storytime-spectrum-libraries-add-services-for-children-with-autism/ |archive-date=February 2, 2022}}</ref> are concrete thinkers and/or might have sensory issues to fluorescent lightning or ambient noise other patrons might not notice.<ref name="spectrum" />

One of the most popular programs offered in public libraries is "summer reading" for children, families, and adults. Summer reading usually includes a list of books to read during summer holidays, as well as performances, book discussions or other celebrations of reading, culture and the humanities. Many libraries offer classes to the community such as tech clinics where patrons can bring in laptops and electronic devices and receive one on one attention in solving their problems and learning how to use them.
	
Libraries may also offer free or inexpensive meeting space for community organizations and educational and entrepreneurial activity. The addition of [[makerspace]]s in libraries (this is usually referred to as community outreach), beginning with the Fayetteville Free Library in 2011, offers the potential for new roles for public spaces and public libraries.<ref>{{cite news|last=McCue|first=T.J.|title=First Public Library to Create a Maker Space|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2011/11/15/first-public-library-to-create-a-maker-space/|access-date=28 July 2013|newspaper=Forbes|date=15 November 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726071454/http://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2011/11/15/first-public-library-to-create-a-maker-space/|archive-date=26 July 2013}}</ref> Attendance at library programs increased by 22% between 2004 and 2008.<ref>{{cite web|title=Program attendance at public libraries is on the rise|url=http://www.lrs.org/documents/fastfacts/298_Programming.pdf|work=Fast facts: recent statistics from the Library Research Service|publisher=Colorado State Library|access-date=28 July 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104113125/http://www.lrs.org/documents/fastfacts/298_Programming.pdf|archive-date=4 November 2013}}</ref>