A Friend is Dying

Save your Public Library

By Cheri Chesley



         A beloved childhood friend is dying. I am their voice. Only you have the power to save them. You must act quickly or it will be too late.

         What is this, do you ask? An ad for a new book? Maybe a movie soon to be released? No. This childhood friend is real and in very real danger. I’m talking about your local public library.

         You’ve relaxed. That has to be because you don’t feel the danger to your friend, or perhaps you have forgotten your friendship over time. Think back to your childhood. Think back to the hours you spent breathing in the smell of gently read tomes. Do you remember the card catalog; the Dewey Decimal system? What about the time you searched frantically for an overdue book, worried about disappointing that bespectacled woman behind the counter?

         We’ve all been there. The library was an old friend, always there for us and nearly always open. That familiar smell hit you the moment you opened the doors, different from a bookstore crammed with new books. These library books had been read and re-read by people who genuinely appreciated the written word.

         When is the last time you set foot in a public library? Have you taken your children there to get a library card? Don’t you remember the thrill of excitement you got when you signed your first card? What book did you check out the first time?

         In today’s society the public library has taken a back seat to ebooks and online bookstores. We take for granted that we can find just about any book we want and purchase it for our home library. An electronic book is easy to carry for those of us always on the go. What use do we have for the public library anymore?

         Utilizing the public library is an unparalleled experience. You can’t go into a bookstore and pick out any book you like to take home, or go back in a week or two and turn it in to pick out another one. And just think of the expense trying to give your fickle children the options at home that a library can provide.

         I’ll admit it. I had a poor childhood. I practically lived in my local library and knew all my favorite aisles by heart. I loved the smell, the quiet, the solitude—I loved it all. And I was not alone. I’m still not.

         Millions of Americans today struggle with their financial health. They can’t afford to buy every book that suits their fancy, or is required reading by their child’s school. Some don’t have internet or even a home computer. It’s these people who rely on the public library as a resource and as a friend. They appreciate the desperate situation the local library is now in yet they lack the resources to do anything about it.

         What can you do, you ask? Any book the library doesn’t have to purchase frees funds for other necessities such as keeping the building operational. So you can donate books—you know, the ones you bought and read once and are right now collecting dust on your shelves. If you have the ability, the next time you buy a much anticipated book at the bookstore pick up two and give one to your library. Volunteer if you have time. Many libraries have their own bookstores you can shop at and in that way contribute financially to the library.

         You can help your childhood friend survive another generation or more. The public library is not simply an outdated resource whose time has come. There is still a great need for this very valuable member of our community. Protect and defend your local library—a world without it would be dark indeed.