Beyond the books: Live Oak Libraries' patrons use their library cards for endless possibilities

As a military kid, Savannah resident Carolyn Spitzer moved around a lot; however, one constant in every new location was her local libraries and the comfort they brought her.

One of Spitzer's favorite memories is sitting in her mother’s car with a pile of books, almost as tall as she was, while she decided which book would take her on her next adventure.

“Libraries have been in my life forever,” Spitzer said.

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Now an artist, her trips to Islands Library on Whitemarsh Island are an important part of finding ways to immerse locals and tourists in the adventures that Tybee Island has to offer. Spitzer makes hand-made ornaments and magnets that feature the barrier island’s hotspots such as the Tybee Lighthouse.

When an idea comes to mind for her next creation, she’ll often check out a book that will help her bring her ideas to life. And when she needs to handle the business side of things, the library is her first stop.

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“I have them print out orders that I get online on Etsy. And I often do my receipts and I communicate with people on their computers. I print out little tags that I use,” Spitzer said.  “And I do all that at the library so that I don't have to use my ink and my printer because my ink dries up so fast, and it just becomes very costly. I go there and pay 50 cents … It's great.”

Libraries becoming about more than just books

As gateways to knowledge and culture, libraries play a fundamental role in society. In Savannah and across the world, they act as community hubs that serve as centers of learning and professional development, and foster a sense of culture for all ages that goes beyond a hardback book shelved amongst a stack of other books.

Live Oak Public Libraries is a system of 16 library locations serving Chatham, Effingham and Liberty counties that is focused on literacy across the board. In September, the library system encouraged people to get library cards during library sign-up month and even presented a food amnesty program that allowed libraries to accept nonperishable food items as an alternate form of payment from patrons for overdue fees.

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The Library has partnered with Telfair Museums’ to offer free passes to library card members and also offers passes to Georgia State parks and places like Fox Theater and Zoo Atlanta.

Nader Mirtolooi is a father to two boys, a 9-year-old and a 7-year-old, and has owned a library card for three years. The card has allowed him to utilize programs like Hoopla, a web and mobile library media streaming platform and take his kids to the Jepson Center and the Georgia Aquarium with the passes Live Oak offers.

“There's just so many resources and things that the library offers whether you're staying there or to get it to take to the state park but just kind of foster the type of lifestyle that I want to have for the boys.”

At the beginning of the year, Step Up Savannah's community coordinator Austin Rojas struggled to find a meeting space for the non-profit organization. Despite the many venues that dot the city, Rojas said he noticed that there are not a lot of free meeting spaces available.

“Being a nonprofit and having tight budgets, you can't understate how important it is to have access to free meetings,” Rojas said.

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When the organization's executive director Alicia Johnson nudged him in the direction of the libraries, Rojas found it was as easy as going on Live Oak’s website and reserving a space, opening the door for community members to gather without hassle.

“Having free meeting space available allows us to bring communities together in a location that's accessible to them,” Rojas said.

“One of the other major challenges in our community is a lack of public transportation, ao being able to have locations spread out across the county so that people can either drive or walk to the venue and then it's more accessible, really makes another huge difference in us being able to get community members out to a location to have one of these meetings. We really appreciate that that exists.”

Laura Nwogu is the quality of life reporter for Savannah Morning News. Contact her at LNwogu@gannett.com. Twitter: @lauranwogu_

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Live Oak Public Library patrons gain access to more than just books