Well, I think it is one of the few things our government has invested wisely in. I used to skip school and spend all day at the library, reading . I couldn't afford books at that time.
We should be spending that money we waste on libraries more effectively, say, on free booze for me.
After all:
1) It'll keep me off the streets.
2) I'll learn a lot (my tolerance for alcohol, the neighborhood's tolerance of me while drunk, etc.)
3) I'll be building my future (alcohol tolerance is an important skill in most industries, especially sales, education, government, etc.)
If we decided that it would be appropriate for government to loan out tools or loan out cars, there would be hell to pay from the hardware stores and auto dealers. I suppose booksellers don't have the same pull.
I'm a big fan of private libraries, open to the public--the few that are left. If you want to see the world's worst public servant in action, try asking the 90-year-old library lady for help. If I had a dime for every time I'd heard the words "USE THE CARD CATALOG!" in the loudest whisper you can muster and still have it be a whisper...
And of course you always see these "In Memoriam" things about those same 90-year-olds when they finally do croak, which talk about how much they loved children...when children lived in fear of them.
The author has a point to make and doesn't really make it with any subtlety or assurance.......HOWEVER, he does make mention of an OUTSTANDING book that I would recommend to EVERYONE, "AN INCOMPLETE EDUCATION" !!!! It is one of my FAVORITE books, I know of NOTHING like it, and YES, anyone could probably get it from one of the booksellers that goes through Amazon for under $10. I bought THREE copies when I saw it remaindered at B and N.
The LA public library broke me of the liberal indoctrination in high school.
The public library is something worth saving and continuing. If it could break me out of liberalism in LA, it can help anyone. Personally, I am of the mind that high school should have at least one year that is conducted entirely in a large metropolitan library.
Me too. Well, okay not really. I smoked pot.
But when I "quit" school, I actually spent more time at the library and learned more on my own than I ever did in school.
"Well, I think it is one of the few things our government has invested wisely in. I used to skip school and spend all day at the library, reading ."
I wasn't very interested in reading until one of my seventh grade teachers read a science fiction book called "A Wrinkle in Time" and then I was hooked. I couldn't stay out of the library and still read two or three a week if I've got time.
If that was the concept of the modern library, I would be throwing bricks at this columnist myself. But he is spot on with his column.
You don't get out much lately, do you.