There’s no place quite like a library

Paper books thrill me. A paper book has a character. The catchy title that arouses my curiosity enough to pull it off a shelf. The cover art that brings the same pleasure as viewing a painting in a museum. The feel of the paper. The graphic art marking the beginning of each chapter. The artistry in the type font. The maps that help me envision the places I read about. The fun illustrations in children’s books that spark the imagination and make the story come alive. The illuminating photos in biographies and histories. The feeling of participating in the story as you turn each page.

So, this reader has not yet advanced (?) to reading books electronically, and I don’t imagine I ever will, unless all paper books tragically disappear during my lifetime. 

This topic of why books are important has been on my mind since learning about the funding cuts to the Big Horn County library system. I grieve for the people in Frannie and Deaver who lost their libraries. Beyond being a place to borrow books, libraries are important places where people can gather and socialize, which is very important in isolated, rural communities. 

Libraries are free public spaces where everyone can feel welcome and find opportunity to learn and grow. Anyone can get a library card. There are no social or economic barriers to visiting a public library. The only qualification is a love of learning. 

I believe that librarians are among the most underappreciated and undervalued of workers. My high school librarian helped me to research homework projects and was also a great listener and mentor. Librarians have helped me to find authors I enjoy, locate reference books, learn how to use computers, research career paths and apply for jobs. Librarians are well-educated and well-read, which makes them among the most interesting people to engage in conversation. 

A public library is like a candy store to a reader. (OK, I date myself with that statement; are there any candy stores left? Do they even have the candies of yesteryear at Cracker Barrel anymore?) Back to the point, the library has so many choices of books, all categorized by genre and alphabetized by author. You can spend as much time as you like browsing the titles and reading the covers to decide what you would like to take home. You can check out a few at a time, read them at your leisure, return them and pick up some more treasures. A never-ending supply. All free. Available to everyone.

Several years ago, I was in a class at my local public library, and a woman was there who had formerly lived in South America. She had the class in tears as she expressed extreme gratitude for access to a public library. She explained that books were very hard to come by and they were prohibitively expensive for most people. So, if she ever got her hands on a book, it was a real treasure. Growing up in America, it never occurred to me that all people don’t have free access to a library. It’s evidently one of the privileges Americans take for granted, and one that should be considered seriously important by those who make budget decisions surrounding education and cultural enrichment. 

Yes, library books are conveniently available online, and easy to download and carry around on your electronic device. I get that; it’s more convenient, and the way many people like to read or listen to audiobooks. Maybe the national library system will become totally electronic and paper books will become a thing of the past. Will there be a bot-librarian to consult with and make book suggestions to us? Will children’s story hour be conducted by webcam, with each child sitting alone in their room at home staring at a screen? Will book clubs meet in chat rooms, rather than sharing facial expressions, voices, laughter and tears as they discuss how they feel about the book they’ve read? 

I guess it could work. But it wouldn’t be the same. This old-fashioned girl would still miss the special buildings that provide tremendous enjoyment and comfort in the world of real books. I maintain hope that libraries everywhere will prevail over economic recessions and budget cuts. It seems to me that the elimination of public libraries would be a devolution rather than an evolution of the education process in America.

Everything shouldn’t be about money. Some things have value that can’t be measured in dollars. My opinion is that libraries fall into that priceless category. 

Now ponder these: “I imagine Paradise as a kind of library.”- Jorge Luis Borges. “Library funding cuts represent a way for American society to destroy itself.”-Isaac Asimov. “Cutting libraries during a recession is like cutting hospitals during a plague.”- Eleanor Crumblehulme. “The cost of libraries is cheap compared to the price of an ignorant nation.”- Walter Cronkite. “Librarians play a vital role in a flourishing democracy.”-Carl Sagan. “Libraries are free universities for the people.”- Andrew Carnegie. “The library is a place where one realizes they are not alone, connecting with others across the world.”- Maya Angelou.