It is really a simple question. Ask families - well-off or not – if they benefit from their local library. Ask a senior citizen…especially one who’s not “wired” at home…if they think libraries are fundamental to their communities. Ask little kids what they think. Ask anyone who likes to read – traditional books or ebooks – how the library serves them. Ask anyone who simply likes to browse the stacks on a lazy saturday afternoon. Ask the guy who needs specific reference material for research…or just how to get the information he needs to handle a tricky tax issue.
It’s all about information, access, and community. The libraries…like public schools…are a foundational element to our personal lives and our civic lives. In the US, Canada and most everywhere else in the so-called free-world, it’s all about basic democracy and quality of life,
Those who want to do away with them on cost are either villians, idiots, or elitist a-holes. Everyone sees it.
