Turns out Libraries do matter

There a new paper out supporting the capital investments in libraries: The Educational Benefits of Libraries.

The figure shows that after a boost in library capital investment, reading test scores steadily increased. In the short run, library investments increased reading scores by 0.01 standard deviations. Seven years out from a project, scores were 0.04 standard deviations higher in districts that invested in public libraries than their counterparts.

I’ll wager there are further tie-ins between libraries and the general social well-being of surrounding neighbors. Personally, I plan to brush up on my french.