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Forum index » Archive » Archive: Catching the Wish (CTW2) » CTW2: Interactions

[EMAIL] "Save the Library - a call to arms!"

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kimer
Unfettered

Joined: 01 Mar 2003
Posts: 400
Location: South of Oz

I modified this a bit for each person but this is basicaly what went ...

Quote:

I came across your small town as I was looking at places in that area to possibly relocate. I must say that when I saw the plans to destroy the library building I was appalled.

First there is the historic significance of the building itself. How could a town consider bulldozing something of such significance?!?!? Don't they care about their heritage? In most places a building like that would already be on the historic registry. That aspect still has me dumbfounded but was, I must admit, overshadowed by the rest of the story.

The plan is not to replace the building with a better design but to digitalize all the books instead?!?!? This has gotten me to thinking a lot about 'what is a library'? Is it a building? Is it the books? Is it a community center? Is it a vehicle of for ALL to knowledge, creativity, imagination, entertainment? Yes!!!

Imagine living in our society without knowing how to read. In the United States today it is estimated that up to 10 percent of children have learning disabilities. What better gift can we give to our children than a love and motivation for reading? By teaching children to love and respect books we give our children a head start to succeeding in life.

Most libraries offer programs for young children and young readers. Some programs offered are story times, reading programs, puppet shows, films or videos, craft events and helping children find appropriate books that meet their interests. Libraries also offer an up-to-date, large selection of children's books to meet the needs and wants of their young patrons.

I remember going to the library with my Mother and siblings when I was a child. We'd all find something to read after enjoying a 'story time'. We were a large family and certainly could not afford to buy as many books as we would read. In the evenings, each with a book, we'd settle around the fire. Over dinner we'd discuss what we were reading. I am sure you can 'picture' our family, the fire sizzling, Dad in his lounge chair, Mom in her rocker, kids flopped here and there on the couch or floor while enjoying our 'book of choice'. Can you see this with a digitalized library?!?! Would we each have to have a laptop? If we couldn't afford the books then how would we be able to afford computers? This just isn't realistic! Are you, as a community, willing to limit access to so many people?

It's not 'just' about the books! Libraries also are a 'community center'. Look at some of the programs you currently have in place: Children's Story Hour twice a week, Teen Night twice a month, computer training once a month, Pine Barren Poets Book Club, recent 'local artist' exhibit�. These are great programs! These are the things that 'bring a community together'!

I understand that you are weighing this against other 'redevelopment' plans. Growth can be good and bring in more jobs, revenue and other improvements. This HAS to be weighed against 'quality of life' issues as well. I know that I, for one, would not relocate to a place that was more industrial park than a pleasant connected community. I fear that you are moving in a direction that comes down to 'progress for progress sake'. Do we need to consider using technology to its fullest? YES! Do we want to destroy our communities in the process? I can only hope NO!

I appreciate you taking the time to read my concerns. I hope you will take all aspects in consideration when making this momentous decision.

_________________
Success is a Journey NOT a Destination!

Posted: Sun Jun 18, 2006 11:38 am

RedHatty
Unfictologist

Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 1428
Location: x��Jy��VJvk

got a reply from Sarah

Quote:

Dear friends,

Thank you for writing to the residents whose names I gave you. I THINK
IT'S WORKING! Your letters have been so wonderful! Arthur is so
impressed with what people have been sending, and bless Miss Goodwin's
heart, she wept openly when I read to her some of the impassioned pleas
you asked me to forward on to her.

We're coming into the home stretch. Please keep doing the good work you
are doing! Let your friends know that anything at all they can send to
the people on the list is a point for our side. Keep those letters
coming. Let the people of Aglaura know that we care about the Library!

Yours in hope,
Sarah Wyatt
Head Librarian, Aglaura Public Library

Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 5:53 am

Nahs1221
Boot

Joined: 19 Jun 2006
Posts: 11

Response from Sarah:

Quote:

Dear Nahs,

Welcome, welcome! Any friend of the Library is a friend of mine. Thank
you so much for your kind offer of support, and that wonderful mail you
sent to the residents on my list. What wonderful research! The emails
are doing wonderful things - please let anyone you know who might be
interested in the fight about the email addresses, and that they can
really make a difference here in Aglaura. (And hopefully we won't have
another power surge like we did on Monday - I was fearful that I had lost
all the contents of my inbox!)

Sincerely,
Sarah Wyatt
Head Librarian, Aglaura Public Library

Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 1:28 pm

MageSteff
Pretty talky there aintcha, Talky?

Joined: 06 Jun 2003
Posts: 2716
Location: State of Denial

Here is mine, which I basically BCC'd to the councel members, Sarah, Dale, Phyllis, Peter @ Mysterytown, AGP, and Sam. Shoot, I forgot Pat Dobbs! doing that now...

Quote:

Council Member, Townsfolk and friends,

I write you today regarding the Aglaura Public Library. There has been much discussion concerning the progress that technology brings against the familiar and cherished. I have a few comments to make on these issues if I may have a moment of your time.

Technology is an interesting thing, it can make us more productive, connect us to friends over long distances, share important information, and store our knowledge for future generations in a smaller space in electronic media that would fill and does fill, many large and prestigious places. Places such as the National Library of Canada, The Library of Congress, the Bodelian Library at Oxford, the British Public Library, The New York Public Library. There have been great libraries we know of only from historical records, the Library of Alexandria, the Celsus Library in Ephesus, Aristotle's Library in Athens. Just as these predecessors have done, so too is there a growing library available on line at Project Gutenberg, located at http://www.gutenberg.org/. This on-line library currently houses some 18,000 free texts that can be downloaded printed, if desired, and shared with others. It charges no fees, it only asks that you include the section regarding fair use of the text should you save, share, or print the material.

The only difference between this project and the one to digitize the Aglaura Public Library texts is one of copyright. Thoughs, ideas, words, have no tangible assets. They contain no real property that changes hands when it is bought or sold. But ideas, thoughts and words do have impressive effects. Roman progress in architecture made possible large buildings, roads, running, and sewage systems. English proficiency on the seas helped to explore our world. German physicists help harness the atom. Where would we be without Pythagoras, Ghandi, Franklin, Einstein, Galen, Marconi, Edison, Bell, Gates? Ideas have a great impact on our society and on our technology. Where would we be without Democracy, Hygiene, Dentistry, Medicine, Public Works, and the Internet? The world would be a different place, unrecognizable to many of us.

Technology does however have its limitations. As has been recently experienced, computers and televisions, and other electronic devices need a supply of power to continue to be effective an efficient. Having lived through three hurricanes in the last two years that left me without power let me tell you, it was a good thing that I had other avenues of entertainment. One of those avenues was the printed word, printed and bound books that required only a sunny spot to illuminate the words.

I have spent my life reading. When I was younger I used to go to the library and check out many, many books a week. I find a great satisfaction to holding a book and turning the pages. Something about the way a book feels, the way it smells, the fact that I can go any place with it and not worry if I have the power available to turn it on that makes it very friendly. The fact that I don't have to scroll down a page before moving to the next one. That it is often smaller and more portable than a laptop that it will not break if I drop it by accident. That it does not destroy the contents immediately if I get it wet. That I can put in a bookmark and pick up exactly where I left off without hunting through a myriad of scroll bars and links.

Libraries too are important places, beyond the value that books hold. It is a place of cultural diversity. It is a place to get assistance finding answers to issues from the mundane to the sublime. The reference librarians can help you track down where to get a copy of your high school diploma, the phone number for a newspaper in Bristol, England, the recipe for popovers, instructions for building a box kite… the list is endless.

So I come before you today to ask that you not choose one side or the other in this debate. I'm asking you to choose both. There is a place for technology in our world, it can save valuable information that might otherwise be lost due to the age of a book, and it can store a large amount of information in a small amount of space. But technology has limitations. It needs an infrastructure of power grids or batteries. Power sources can fail; information can be scrambled or lost. A library is large enough to hold printed volumes and electronic volumes. Why should we be forced to choose one over the other? To lose a library is to lose a friend, a place of mystery, a place of magic; a place of shared traditions.

I ask that you keep the Aglaura Public Library. Not only to keep it, but to expand its mission.

Sincerely,
xxxxxxx xxxxxxx

*edit*
Received auto acknowledgements from Hollow Needle and AGP.

_________________
Magesteff
A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead

Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2006 1:31 am

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