I love books, so it was a great joy to join the board of the Orfordville Public Library earlier this year. One of the best parts has been learning about the number of ways our library benefits the community.

As a patron, I knew about some of the services already. I especially enjoy checking out audiobooks to listen to in the car, and I had regular contact with Sarah Strunz, the director, and other library staff and volunteers through the monthly Senior Luncheon program – which takes place at Orfordville Lutheran but is put on for the whole community by the library. But since joining the board, it has been wonderful to learn about the many other ways the library serves the community through access to resources and information and through events and programs.

I was amazed to learn that for every $1 a community invests in its library it’s estimated that they get $4 of value in return. If you go to the American Library Association website, they have a calculator where you can see how much value you get from your library based on the resources you use. When I entered in my library usage, I came up with over $400 (at least) for me personally in the last year. Our communities are truly blessed by our libraries.

One of the things I value about our public libraries is that they serve people of all backgrounds and strive to provide equal access to information and resources to all people. Equity, diversity, inclusion, and intellectual freedom are core values of the American Library Association.

These days librarians do so much more than lend out books. Libraries are a safe place for children and youth, a place with resources for employment, a place to research family history, a place to build community, and so much more. Especially for low-income families, public libraries help bridge the gap and provide opportunities for success.

For me, as a Christian member of the community, I think of public libraries as a part of our prayer for daily bread. In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus taught us to pray “Give us today our daily bread.” Lutherans particularly have an expansive understanding of what “daily bread” means. Daily bread includes: the house where you live, the food you eat, your friends and family, your job and income, the seat belt that protects you in your car, and a lot more. Martin Luther taught that daily bread included things like good weather, good government, good friends, and faithful neighbors. In short, our daily bread is everything in your life that helps you survive and flourish.

Furthermore, we pray for OUR daily bread and not just MY daily bread. In other words, we pray that all people in our community have enough to live and thrive. We pray for the common good of all.

We don’t believe that receiving this daily bread is contingent on our prayer or that God only gives daily bread to believing Christians. Instead, as Martin Luther writes in his Small Catechism, “We ask in this prayer that God cause us to recognize what our daily bread is and to receive it with thanksgiving.” This prayer invites us into discernment on all the gifts of God that support and nourish us.

Given all the ways libraries benefit our communities, I think we can see how they contribute to our common well-being. When a child reads a book from the library over the summer, they are receiving daily bread. When a person uses the computer at the library to find a job, they are receiving daily bread. When neighbors meet and become friends at the library, they are receiving daily bread.

I hope you will take advantage of the many ways our local libraries serve our communities. And may God feed you in heart, mind, and soul with daily bread!

Written for the Brodhead Free Press and the Independent Register as part of their weekly “Pastor’s Corner” column.