Free Republic

Kate Fons couldn't help herself. It was Earth Day, and she was listening to public radio, to a segment describing how Earth Day originated in Wisconsin and so, by the way, did Little Free Libraries. A guest on the program was a man who had combined these two, installing a Little Free Library in his front yard specifically for cookbooks and planting herbs around the base. What a cool idea, Fons thought. There already was a Little Library a few blocks away from her south side home, so Fons zeroed in on the herb garden idea. She ordered a colorful...

Why do we need Mother's Day anyway? Just kidding! I'm staying away from controversial topics for a while. For starters, I don't have time to read all the responses. In my last column, I questioned the need for taxpayer-funded libraries, considering that books are readily available at low prices from private sources such as Amazon.com. You could say the column did not receive overwhelming approval. In fact, for the next 2½ weeks, my computer continually flashed at me: "You have mail!" It might as well have said: "Another angry librarian!" Many of the replies were long and detailed. I almost...