THOUGHTS ON LIBRARIES

Feb 2, 2014 by Wayne Zurl

No one can argue this fact. Economic times are tough. An average family with 2.4 children struggles to purchase food, clothing, and other necessities. A new novel costs $26.95. Fifty-page-long children’s books might carry a price of $18.95. Not everyone can afford new books. Everyone should read . . . or be afforded the opportunity to read—especially children. Catch 22?

Being familiar with the novel of the same name isn’t necessary. Everyone knows the concept. What can happen to an adult when they don’t exercise their brain by reading? What in a child’s mind gets stifled when they don’t read? Is there an over-the-counter remedy for those problems?

It’s called the public library, and it’s the cheapest medication for a lazy mind the world can offer.

Need a vacation and can’t afford one? Try the library. Bernard Cornwell transports you back to Saxon England. Rudyard Kipling sends you to India in the colonial days of the British Raj. James Michener can get you free passage on a schooner sailing for Tahiti. And that only cracks the surface of possibilities.

I like libraries.