Co-working facilities provide benefits to some, but not all have the financial or transportation means to benefit from those resources. Enter your public library.
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The COVID pandemic demonstrated not all sectors require daily time in the office to be productive. Workers have sought to find a balance of in-person and work-from-home time. While this is something many workers are now seeking, others are looking for a place to balance out the chaos or tight quarters of home. Co-working facilities provide benefits to some, but not all have the financial or transportation means to benefit from those resources. Enter your public library.Â
Massachusetts is extremely fortunate to have a high concentration of public libraries, nearly every town has one. Additionally, residents enjoy the benefits of one of the country's few public library construction programs, which works to improve facilities through funding, planning, design, and construction projects, enabling towns and cities to build the libraries their community needs. And many of them have everything you are looking for in a workspace.
The main branch of the Worcester Public Library is located in downtown Worcester, accessible by train and bus, and located next to a large municipal parking lot. In its three public floors, it has high-speed Wi-Fi, large tables, quiet nooks, printing, copying, and faxing services. In its 2021 renovation, the library re-imagined its study rooms to be more than simple private rooms for tutoring. These new rooms come with whiteboards for ideating and TVs for presentations, group work, or that unwieldy Excel document that you cannot see on your laptop. These rooms are free and can be used for client meetings, private conversations, or just a quiet place to work. Other libraries throughout the state have study rooms available, and you can book most online for your planning needs.
If you are starting a business or looking to grow your work, check your library for its small business resources and access to news and consumer information. Many libraries have online resources you can access anytime. If you don’t have a library card, get an immediate eCard from your library website. In addition, libraries with larger populations commonly have regular programs and classes centered around small business, website building, and grant writing.
In addition to print books, audiobooks, newspapers, and magazines, your library has a huge collection of eBooks and eAudio for immediate use on your device.
You may have not visited your library in sometime, but while you were away the librarians were hard at work, changing with the demands of your community and creating library services very different from your experience as a child. But at the core, their mission stays the same, to enrich the lives of their community and create a space for all to thrive.
Jason Homer is executive director of the Worcester Public Library.
