As a voracious reader in my younger years, I often checked out books from public and school libraries. And learned how to research libraries for information. I obtained my Master's in Library Science and worked in various types of libraries for forty years. So much time helping people, educating people and just enjoying reading. I cannot imagine not having libaries.
What libraries mean to me? My elementary school library gave me lots of good choices of books to read. But the reason it stays in my memory many decades later, is that the librarian always gave me a wonderful smile when I went through the line at the end of our time there, smiling at me as if I were a real, normal human being, something no one else in my life did. I credit her genuine smile with saving my life when I was feeling suicidal in my early 20s. I don't spend time in libraries any more, but I will always consider them to be important places, especially when they have books that help people to accept who they are. Libraries can save lives.
Libraries since we were children have become just so much more than hard bound books and those smiling librarians who perhaps knows your name and provides a welcome retreat. Our local libraries let you check out ebooks then provide the meeting space to discuss those books with new friends. They have Make It labs where you can try out new skills like woodworking, pottery and computer building. They have game nights where you can find out how to play bridge or mah-jong.
Want to look for a job or build a resume? Need internet services? Get news from across the globe? Research your heritage?
Wow! I didn't really know how many other things they do. My closest library is probably too small to have pottery classes (which I would take). I have a friend who was an elementary school librarian and for several years we volunteered to help with a project she had, where groups of kids would make up illustrated boards for a book they'd read and then report on it. Each group was a different grade. We volunteered partly because she was our friend, but I also added my elementary school librarian into my decision to help out.
Kennedy: “At DOGE, we talked about this from the beginning...we're going to do 80 percent cuts, but 20 percent of those are going to have to be reinstalled, because we'll make mistakes."
If I'd done my job with a 20% error rate, I'd have been fired. What Kennedy is talking about isn't normal -- it is utter incompetence.
When my children were little, we checked out books from the library a lot. When they became adults, I stopped going. Then I heard of this program where you can check out a parking pass for California State parks from the library. I started going to the library again to check out the parking passes. While planning a vacation with a long flight, I realized I needed something to do for several hours on the plane. I checked out a library book and also an audiobook.
I have been a reference Librarian at a large art library for over 40 years. My relationship with libraries started when I was very young. My mom took my little brother and me to the library every week to check out books. When I was in 5th grade, my teacher was also the school Librarian. Remember those? During the summer, I volunteered for her in the school library, reshelving books. As a teen ager, I became a storyteller for our local public library. And, as a young adult, after receiving my BA in Art History and getting a job at a major Museum working in the photograph archive, I decided to go to Library School to get my Master's in Library Science to become an Art Librarian. So, my entire life has revolved around libraries. They are critical for the survival of a civil society.
I can’t remember exactly when I began to think of my books as a part of me, a part of who I am.
I was a library assistant in high school and loved perusing all the adventures as I reshelved according to Dewey.
In college I always studied at the library. Surrounded by information waiting to serve me.
For my doctoral work, I had my own study room reserved at the library.
Each time I move, I have to purge books and it feels like friends are being adopted out.
I always donate books to the area library.
My father refused to allow us to have the television until we were 13 years old because he was afraid that we would watch television rather than read books.
I remember the first time I heard the expression “soften the field. “ it sounded so benign… except that it was the phrase used by mainstream media to describe Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Soften the field, meant murdering and raping and kidnapping children and bombing infrastructure. Softening the field is a means by which to demoralize and break people’s spirits and crush their souls into compliance. THIS is the ugliness. THIS is the lawlessness being perpetrated upon the American people and the world writ large.
We, the PEOPLE, could use some pro bono work by attorneys because WE the PEOPLE of the United States should file a lawsuit against Trump and every single person in his orbit who enable and encourage this particular brand of warfare. The People of the United States V Donald Trump and Co-conspirators. How do we make this happen? I want in!
This obscene act contributes to the dumbing down of America - a must for controlling a population & stifles the American dream achievable in a safe and free public space. Libraries are way more than books. They open minds to the possible. Demand that the whole staff be reinstated to the Institute of Museum and Library Services so they can continue to distribute the grant money already allocated by Congress for the current fiscal year and process the applications for the next year.
In my 70+ years, having public libraries has always been a given. While not a local library "regular", access to knowledge and entertainment provided by libraries is an essential community service particularly for our youth and those of less fortunate means. Taking that away serves only to weaken our ability to gain knowledge, develop a broader perspective, and form opinions. Specifically, it only serves those who want to control what we hear, see, and ultimately think.
A total bookworm here. My mother regularly drove us 26 miles one-way to a country library in rural Eastern WA from our farm. She was a college graduate, as was my dad. My memories are of them both reading when the work of the day was done. Now I’m immersed in a book on the JFK assassination, “A Woman I Know, “ But next week it cd be “Cults Like Us.” (Both books I learned about reading Substack.) Give me written words or give me death.
As much as I loved libraries “forever“, and always have my face buried in a book every day, I must say this post of Democracy Index is the scariest of all – – so far. I need to see some more real legal successes to stop this madness. The devastation facing everyone not a millionaire is more evident every day. We need more companies (of all types) to stand up to FF47 and his goons to reverse the trend and get us back on track for our democracy. Please God, let our protest today make a real difference.
When I was a little girl, I would walk to our town's public library. I would spend time pursuing the books and picking out a bunch of them to read. I remember that l loved biographies of famous people in history. I would check out as many books as I was able to carry home. I'd read every one, and when I finished the last one, I'd walk back to the return the books and pick out new ones. I also liked reading encyclopedias. I took my kids to the library. The library also provided free passes to our local zoo and other excursions. I never remember not having a public library. So sad what these selfish fascists are trying to do t our beautiful country.
When my now husband and I were just starting to date, we would go to the main library in Minneapolis and listen to “records” that we were too poor to buy. I was not a library goer at the time, but came to look forward to that time together. Today, fifty years later, he takes our grandchildren to the library to choose recordings that are shared at home. We can afford the music today, but the times spent at the library bring our memories full circle with our generational family. We have multiple musicians (and readers) in the family and one with a DMA. I attribute these successes to our many visits to libraries in four states.
Booker's confession is both remarkable and believable. His support of the pharmaceutical industry after taking large campaign contributions from them was despicable. But he is a good man, a great public servant, and he deserves a second chance. Hopefully, he will follow Bernie's lead the next time he runs for re-election and reject all PAC money and all other big money, limit his contributions to $100 per donor, and raise the needed funds on line. We don't need their big money anymore if we speak truth to power.
Florida's great Governor Lawton Chiles was a great example. He limited his contributions to $100 and this was before online fundraising. His message resonated with Floridians and he beat Jeb Bush. When lobbyists would meet with him in the Governor's office, and Chiles would reject their pleas for something that was good for them and their clients but not good for Floridians, he would get up from behind his desk, go over to a podium-like piece of furniture, and put his hand on a big book that had the name of every one of his small donors, and say to his guests, "This is who elected me, and this is who I represent."
More than anything else, Citizens United and its predecessors and its progeny, have destroyed our democracy. Roberts let Kennedy write that foolish opinion, but make no mistake, it is John Roberts who has facilitated this destruction of our democracy and facilitated its replacement with an oligarchy. That's why Trump thanked John Roberts at the State of the Union speech and told him he wouldn't forget it.
I was maybe 8 years old and the Bookmobile (??) was in my elementary school's parking lot. It was our turn to go, I was so excited. I don’t remember if I had a particular book or topic in mind, but I do remember joyfully finding and checking out “The Say Hey Kid”, a biography of Willie Mays, the Hall of Fame centerfielder. At the time, Willie was still playing, though at the end of his career. And though we were in Ohio, my father’s favorite team was the Giants (thought the New York version). I was over the moon (though at the time I did not know what that meant). I remember devouring the book before it had to be returned the following week. It was also that time that I fell in absolute love with baseball. Today, my wife and I revere books, going to libraries and independent and used book stores whenever we can. If we go to a book store, even a chain, we have rule - we must buy something to support the establishment. It means we have way more books around that we can read, but they are all our friends. And we will continue to get more, and give away the ones we will not read again. Books, and therefore authors, are great. Keep reading!!!!
As a voracious reader in my younger years, I often checked out books from public and school libraries. And learned how to research libraries for information. I obtained my Master's in Library Science and worked in various types of libraries for forty years. So much time helping people, educating people and just enjoying reading. I cannot imagine not having libaries.
What libraries mean to me? My elementary school library gave me lots of good choices of books to read. But the reason it stays in my memory many decades later, is that the librarian always gave me a wonderful smile when I went through the line at the end of our time there, smiling at me as if I were a real, normal human being, something no one else in my life did. I credit her genuine smile with saving my life when I was feeling suicidal in my early 20s. I don't spend time in libraries any more, but I will always consider them to be important places, especially when they have books that help people to accept who they are. Libraries can save lives.
Libraries since we were children have become just so much more than hard bound books and those smiling librarians who perhaps knows your name and provides a welcome retreat. Our local libraries let you check out ebooks then provide the meeting space to discuss those books with new friends. They have Make It labs where you can try out new skills like woodworking, pottery and computer building. They have game nights where you can find out how to play bridge or mah-jong.
Want to look for a job or build a resume? Need internet services? Get news from across the globe? Research your heritage?
It is all this and so much more.
Wow! I didn't really know how many other things they do. My closest library is probably too small to have pottery classes (which I would take). I have a friend who was an elementary school librarian and for several years we volunteered to help with a project she had, where groups of kids would make up illustrated boards for a book they'd read and then report on it. Each group was a different grade. We volunteered partly because she was our friend, but I also added my elementary school librarian into my decision to help out.
Kennedy: “At DOGE, we talked about this from the beginning...we're going to do 80 percent cuts, but 20 percent of those are going to have to be reinstalled, because we'll make mistakes."
If I'd done my job with a 20% error rate, I'd have been fired. What Kennedy is talking about isn't normal -- it is utter incompetence.
When my children were little, we checked out books from the library a lot. When they became adults, I stopped going. Then I heard of this program where you can check out a parking pass for California State parks from the library. I started going to the library again to check out the parking passes. While planning a vacation with a long flight, I realized I needed something to do for several hours on the plane. I checked out a library book and also an audiobook.
The library has so much more than just books!
I have been a reference Librarian at a large art library for over 40 years. My relationship with libraries started when I was very young. My mom took my little brother and me to the library every week to check out books. When I was in 5th grade, my teacher was also the school Librarian. Remember those? During the summer, I volunteered for her in the school library, reshelving books. As a teen ager, I became a storyteller for our local public library. And, as a young adult, after receiving my BA in Art History and getting a job at a major Museum working in the photograph archive, I decided to go to Library School to get my Master's in Library Science to become an Art Librarian. So, my entire life has revolved around libraries. They are critical for the survival of a civil society.
I can’t remember exactly when I began to think of my books as a part of me, a part of who I am.
I was a library assistant in high school and loved perusing all the adventures as I reshelved according to Dewey.
In college I always studied at the library. Surrounded by information waiting to serve me.
For my doctoral work, I had my own study room reserved at the library.
Each time I move, I have to purge books and it feels like friends are being adopted out.
I always donate books to the area library.
My father refused to allow us to have the television until we were 13 years old because he was afraid that we would watch television rather than read books.
It worked.
I remember the first time I heard the expression “soften the field. “ it sounded so benign… except that it was the phrase used by mainstream media to describe Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Soften the field, meant murdering and raping and kidnapping children and bombing infrastructure. Softening the field is a means by which to demoralize and break people’s spirits and crush their souls into compliance. THIS is the ugliness. THIS is the lawlessness being perpetrated upon the American people and the world writ large.
We, the PEOPLE, could use some pro bono work by attorneys because WE the PEOPLE of the United States should file a lawsuit against Trump and every single person in his orbit who enable and encourage this particular brand of warfare. The People of the United States V Donald Trump and Co-conspirators. How do we make this happen? I want in!
This obscene act contributes to the dumbing down of America - a must for controlling a population & stifles the American dream achievable in a safe and free public space. Libraries are way more than books. They open minds to the possible. Demand that the whole staff be reinstated to the Institute of Museum and Library Services so they can continue to distribute the grant money already allocated by Congress for the current fiscal year and process the applications for the next year.
In my 70+ years, having public libraries has always been a given. While not a local library "regular", access to knowledge and entertainment provided by libraries is an essential community service particularly for our youth and those of less fortunate means. Taking that away serves only to weaken our ability to gain knowledge, develop a broader perspective, and form opinions. Specifically, it only serves those who want to control what we hear, see, and ultimately think.
A total bookworm here. My mother regularly drove us 26 miles one-way to a country library in rural Eastern WA from our farm. She was a college graduate, as was my dad. My memories are of them both reading when the work of the day was done. Now I’m immersed in a book on the JFK assassination, “A Woman I Know, “ But next week it cd be “Cults Like Us.” (Both books I learned about reading Substack.) Give me written words or give me death.
I practically lived at the library as a child newly arrived in the US. I appreciate you drawing attention to this terrible situation.
https://medium.com/@flhorning/remember-the-old-library-4b7e89292b02
As much as I loved libraries “forever“, and always have my face buried in a book every day, I must say this post of Democracy Index is the scariest of all – – so far. I need to see some more real legal successes to stop this madness. The devastation facing everyone not a millionaire is more evident every day. We need more companies (of all types) to stand up to FF47 and his goons to reverse the trend and get us back on track for our democracy. Please God, let our protest today make a real difference.
When I was a little girl, I would walk to our town's public library. I would spend time pursuing the books and picking out a bunch of them to read. I remember that l loved biographies of famous people in history. I would check out as many books as I was able to carry home. I'd read every one, and when I finished the last one, I'd walk back to the return the books and pick out new ones. I also liked reading encyclopedias. I took my kids to the library. The library also provided free passes to our local zoo and other excursions. I never remember not having a public library. So sad what these selfish fascists are trying to do t our beautiful country.
When my now husband and I were just starting to date, we would go to the main library in Minneapolis and listen to “records” that we were too poor to buy. I was not a library goer at the time, but came to look forward to that time together. Today, fifty years later, he takes our grandchildren to the library to choose recordings that are shared at home. We can afford the music today, but the times spent at the library bring our memories full circle with our generational family. We have multiple musicians (and readers) in the family and one with a DMA. I attribute these successes to our many visits to libraries in four states.
Booker's confession is both remarkable and believable. His support of the pharmaceutical industry after taking large campaign contributions from them was despicable. But he is a good man, a great public servant, and he deserves a second chance. Hopefully, he will follow Bernie's lead the next time he runs for re-election and reject all PAC money and all other big money, limit his contributions to $100 per donor, and raise the needed funds on line. We don't need their big money anymore if we speak truth to power.
Florida's great Governor Lawton Chiles was a great example. He limited his contributions to $100 and this was before online fundraising. His message resonated with Floridians and he beat Jeb Bush. When lobbyists would meet with him in the Governor's office, and Chiles would reject their pleas for something that was good for them and their clients but not good for Floridians, he would get up from behind his desk, go over to a podium-like piece of furniture, and put his hand on a big book that had the name of every one of his small donors, and say to his guests, "This is who elected me, and this is who I represent."
More than anything else, Citizens United and its predecessors and its progeny, have destroyed our democracy. Roberts let Kennedy write that foolish opinion, but make no mistake, it is John Roberts who has facilitated this destruction of our democracy and facilitated its replacement with an oligarchy. That's why Trump thanked John Roberts at the State of the Union speech and told him he wouldn't forget it.
I was maybe 8 years old and the Bookmobile (??) was in my elementary school's parking lot. It was our turn to go, I was so excited. I don’t remember if I had a particular book or topic in mind, but I do remember joyfully finding and checking out “The Say Hey Kid”, a biography of Willie Mays, the Hall of Fame centerfielder. At the time, Willie was still playing, though at the end of his career. And though we were in Ohio, my father’s favorite team was the Giants (thought the New York version). I was over the moon (though at the time I did not know what that meant). I remember devouring the book before it had to be returned the following week. It was also that time that I fell in absolute love with baseball. Today, my wife and I revere books, going to libraries and independent and used book stores whenever we can. If we go to a book store, even a chain, we have rule - we must buy something to support the establishment. It means we have way more books around that we can read, but they are all our friends. And we will continue to get more, and give away the ones we will not read again. Books, and therefore authors, are great. Keep reading!!!!