Letters from Linden
by JACK LINDEN
Members of Congress, state legislators and local mayors have a propensity for declaring particular months, days, or weeks for some kind of recognition. Some are absolutely ridiculous but others have a serious side to them. To me, the most important one and probably the one that gets the least attention is National Library Week.
Libraries and librarians have taken a bum rap in literature and plays. Who can forget Marian, the librarian in “The Music Man” or a current advertisement about a librarian looking over her glasses in the “quiet please” mode, or another with the librarian riding her bicycle in a long skirt, a flowery hat and dutifully signaling a turn? How we cling to the old ideas of what a library and a librarian really is.
Have you have visited your local library recently? Are you still of the opinion that a librarian does nothing but roam among the reading tables, quieting the noise maker with more noise than the noise maker? If that is your idea of the current library, you are missing a building where the sound of computers and printers can be heard. You will see young children with their eyes glued to computer screens doing science and history projects or learning how to quilt or a thousand other topics about which you never dreamed.
While you are amazed at what children are doing, you can go to another area and see adults building a family tree from a program that traces family roots. No longer are computers only for the young or the young at heart. They have become centers in the drive to create lifelong learners. No longer is the library a place which is dedicated solely to books and for people who are doing research. The library of today is a vibrant, exciting and warm place of learning, of cultural understanding, of self-help.
No longer is the librarian the “Marian the Librarian” at the beginning of “The Music Man.” She or he is now the energetic person cataloging books and also DVDs and programs for learning a foreign language. Your librarian is the person who can guide you when you are considering buying one of those new-fangled contraptions like an iPad or an e-reader. No, they won’t tell you the brand but are capable of telling you the strong points of each and how the library in your community can be used with that electronic device.
Yes, your community library is the most important building in town. Your local library can give you the best education in the world, and all you have to do is apply for a library card that is free and use it to satisfy your curiosities. The library is there for you to continue to grow and to become a better human being.
Let’s make this National Library Year. If you want your community to grow and to remain vibrant in this modern world, make sure that your community library is up to date and meets the needs of a changing world. You do not have to be a millionaire to explore the world or the universe. You can do it for free at your local library. Visit there today and more importantly, often. Be a citizen of the world by going to the building in your hometown.
