Chapter 9: Academic Writing: Expanding Your Creative Writing Through Use of the Library

Libraries are unique treasure troves that allow creative writers to expand their literary and professional reach through creativity, community, and entrepreneurship. They offer extreme value through visibility, awareness, location, usage, and exchange. Long gone are the days when libraries were just buildings for holding books. Today, libraries remain active hubs for all intellectual, creative, and social expansion.

Each city, county, and local government library serves humanity. As the American Library Association asserts, public libraries are dynamic and versatile community centers (American Library Association, 2014). Public libraries and academic libraries received more than 1.5 billion in person visits in 2015, and over 2.2 billion materials were circulated (American Library Association, 2014). Libraries that serve the public exist in municipalities and colleges all over the country.