Are Libraries a Waste? [IELTS Writing]

Recently, I came across an IELTS writing task 2 question about libraries and technology. In fact, I have encountered many questions similar to this over the past few years, and so today I thought I would share with you my sample answer and some language to help you deal with this sort of question.

The Question: Are Libraries A Waste of Time/Money?

There are many variants upon this question, but essentially the boil down to whether or not it is worthwhile investing in libraries. Here are some examples:

The maintenance of public libraries is a waste of money because of computer technologies that have the same function.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

This is one version of the question. Here is another similar one:

Maintaining public libraries is a waste of time since computer technology is now replacing their functions.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

This is basically the same, but with “money” replaced by “time.” To be honest, I would think that this is a misreported IELTS question because it is unlikely that anyone would ask about wasting time here.

Some people think public libraries are necessary while others think they are a waste of money.

Discuss both points of view and give your opinion.

This is essentially the same question except that you must discuss both views.

Language for the Topic of Libraries

You don’t really need much specialist language here, but it is worth knowing some words and phrases related to libraries and also to the wider field of technology.

My essay is going to focus on the idea that the internet presents very unreliable information compared to that which can be found in libraries, so here are some phrases for this purpose:

• access to reputable sources of information
• an incredible amount of misinformation
• respected authors and reliable editors
• the collected knowledge of humanity
• inherently unreliable
• highly biased sources of information
• stock dubious material
• libraries may seem outdated

You can find all of these words used in context in my sample answer below.

Here’s a video that I made about vocabulary for technology. This is actually really important for IELTS speaking and writing, and it is important to learn because most textbooks are sadly quite outdated now:

Grammar

Before we move on, I should point out an important thing: It is not just vocabulary that you need to know. Grammar is really important. If you are talking about technology replacing libraries, you will be looking at the past, present, and possible even the future. This means knowing a range of verb tenses. Here are some examples:

it is becoming less common for people to use libraries	Tense: present continuous. This is for on-going situations at the moment.
they were incredibly popular throughout the world	Tense: past simple. This is for statements of fact about the past.
libraries are still necessary even in the age of Google	Tense: present simple. This is for statements of fact.
the internet has democratised information	Tense: present perfect. This for things that began in the past and continue now.

Other tenses may be necessary, but these examples are taken from my own sample essay, which does not talk much about the future and does not lean on other tenses like the past perfect.

Sample Answer

Question

Maintaining public libraries is a waste of money since computer technology is now replacing their functions.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Plan

I want to focus on the issue of reliability of information. Technology makes it easier to find information, but libraries give us a better quality of information. In other words, Google and social media present us with many ideas but much of it is unreliable. Thus, my structure will be:

Intro	Introduce the topic State my position (libraries are not a waste of money)
Paragraph #2	Libraries provide reliable information Show the problems with the internet: misinformation/unreliability Libraries have more trustworthy sources
Paragraph #3	People tend to believe social media Look at “echo chamber” phenomenon Internet divided into groups of poorly informed people Libraries generally not subject to this problem
Conclusion	Summarise: libraries are still necessary because we need reliable information

Essay

In the twenty-first century, it is becoming less common for people to use libraries, even though last century they were incredibly popular throughout the world. Now that the internet can be easily accessed from most phones and computers, some people think that libraries are just a waste of money. This essay will argue that this is not entirely true.

The first reason why libraries are still necessary even in the age of Google is that they provide trustworthy access to reputable sources of information. Sadly, although the internet has democratised information and made it freely available throughout the world, there is still an incredible amount of misinformation and many sources that people trust are in fact very unreliable. Libraries contain many books published by respected authors and reliable editors, meaning that they should be treated with more reverence than a website that pops up on a search engine.

Secondly, even though most of the collected knowledge of humanity can be found on the internet, most people trust what they read on social media. These sorts of posts are inherently unreliable because they are shared only by people of the same political belief, and these groups amplify messages they like rather than what is in fact true. Sadly, that means that the internet is often divided into highly biased sources of information that cannot be entirely trusted. Libraries are less likely to stock such dubious material and can thus be considered better for people looking for real facts.

In conclusion, libraries may seem outdated, but perhaps they are necessary in the modern world because they can provide us with more reliable information than we would normally find online.