Early on in reading up as a new planning commissioner in Kirkland, Wash., I became a student of Jane Jacobs, specifically reading her legendary 1961 “The Death and Life of Great American Cities.” Although Jacobs did not specifically mention belonging then, in a far different America, her city planning themes of automobile-centric vs. sidewalks and “eyes on the street” can easily be part of urban designing for belonging today.

Fortunately, Springfield’s Main Street remains and flourishes as a people-oriented area, with the Springfield Public Library as an important and critical anchor, and a key place for fostering a sense of belonging. Belonging is not an easily defined subject, but another author, Kim Samuel, writing in her 2022 “On Belonging: Finding Connection in an Age of Isolation,” speaks of social loneliness as a deep structural factor in our communities, rooted in “our historical forms of ‘othering.’” (Both books are available in the Springfield library.)

Libraries like ours in Springfield are essential to the broader community as a place for belonging, for walking in our doors free and equal and desiring to be among others as we assist all in seeking help and knowledge. The Springfield Public Library is a proud member of the American Library Association, which recently added “belonging” to its concept of “diversity, equity and inclusion,” adjusting the acronym DEI to DEIB. The association’s Bill of Rights states: “Equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging are central to promoting and practicing intellectual freedom.”

Every person, by virtue of being born, has a right to belong, and in a rapidly changing and diverse population, it becomes essential for communities like Springfield to protect their libraries as places open for all to enter.

However, with the Springfield budget planning still in process, the mandated budget reduction looms as the harbinger of a reduction in hours open, and quite likely the library’s closure on Mondays.

There is still time to act and make your opinion known. Attend the May 4 Budget Committee meeting at 5:30 p.m. at the Springfield Justice Center, 230 Fourth St., and have your voice heard!

James Lauinger
Springfield