I am giving more and more general tours at my library these days. Today, I gave a tour to a group of high school students. Smart kids, and they asked good questions. But, I have to say I was seriously alarmed when two of them said that they have never been to a library. Not to any library! Really? I wish I could have had the opportunity to ask them more about this.
Is the library too far to drive to? Do they have a fabulous home library? Do their parents not like the library for some reason?
I have been quite sure, up to this point, that libraries serve a fundamental purpose in society, and will always exist.
But what if they don’t? What if teenagers stop going to them? What if parents stop taking their kids to the library?
As a kid I used to walk two miles to my public library in the summer, and then two miles back home with my treasures. I remember being a part of the Texas Summer Reading program in San Marcos in 1976, when you got a little soldier for each book you read to make up a patriotic battle scene. And, sometimes, they showed us movies, like, A Wrinkle in Time. I would not be the person that I am today without that experience of a warm, welcoming public library.
So, on that note, a link to save our Texas libraries.
