Fun fact: In 1953 Ray Bradbury wrote the bulk of his classic science-fiction novel Fahrenheit 451 at his local library, on a coin-operated typewriter. At 30 minutes for a dime, it was $10 bloody well spent. Support your local library!
I suspect all of us who consider ourselves writers revere libraries, and we Prescottonians are fortunate to have a pretty good one. The PPL boasts three climate-controlled floors and an elevator, a helpful staff, a bank of online computers with scanner and printer, free wifi, a permanent book sale of excess and duplicate material, meeting rooms, puzzles for adults, amusements for kids, a silent study area, reservable private rooms, CDs, DVDs, audio books, indoor displays, outdoor murals and sculpture, a walled side yard with a lawn and tables, and clean bathrooms (after all, as Peter Griffin, from the Family Guy TV show explains to his son Chris, the library is a place for homeless people to go BM and wash up). It lacks coin-operated typewriters, but among other features I may have overlooked it houses roughly 130,000 books. It's a valued and quite popular local resource.
Biochemistry professor — and insanely prolific author and editor of over 500 books on many subjects — Isaac Asimov once described what he considered the ultimate entertainment cassette, something along these lines: portable, perfect clarity, sound and picture never need adjustment, can't disturb others around you, pauses automatically when you look away; he was referring to a book, of course.
I've mentioned before the importance of books in my life. My reading has been at least 85% fiction, and I don't apologize for it. Fiction can provide plenty of truth via allegory, along with its escapism and inspiration and other gifts. But, not having had an exactly stellar academic career, I've been sure to pick up the occasional nonfiction book on history, language, religion, philosophy, biography, how-to, trivia and science (math I've given up on). I'm forever indebted to the late astronomer and popularizer Carl Sagan for his 1980 book Cosmos (possibly the first nonfiction book I ever read), from which I learned a great many amazing things, not least of which was that if properly instructed I was smart enough to grasp (some) science. So in addition to entertaining, the love of books, for me, has been empowering. It defines a large part of who I am, for whatever that's worth.
Books can teach you how to work on a car, build a banjo, cook a meal, grow a garden, survive in the wilderness, write a poem, perform first aid, and identify lights in the sky, as well as provide you with the thoughts of Frederick Douglass and detail the adventures of d'Artagnan. And much more, but what a great place to start!
The educational system being what it is in this country, not to mention at the mercy of political caprice, libraries could be more important than ever in coming years. They have not yet been replaced by the internet, which is subject to propaganda, scams, government meddling, intentional or accidental inaccuracies (little editing), questionable sources, outdated websites, power outages and creeps of every description. A library is a better place, offering lifetimes of experience and knowledge and a rich education to those willing and able to use it. And far fewer creeps. A child familiar with his or her library has more resources and is stronger than a child who is not. The library contains in it, somewhere, ideas never broached in class and books never mentioned by teachers. The contents of a library could well sow dissent, inspire subversion, and foster revolution. And the little old gray-haired librarian who represents the stereotype never has a clue. Or does she?
When State internet censorship (Russian-, Korean- or Chinese-style) comes to pass in this country, maybe half an hour from now, they'll eventually get around to the libraries, but for a time they may forget they exist. What is it? A library, you say — they still have those? How quaint! Tyrants, though they may excrete a Mein Kampf from time to time, don't think about books a whole lot. Maybe that's why they're so grouchy. The serf, the slave, the proletariat are not encouraged to read; books are too powerful, and dangerous to tyranny. So support your local library and take full advantage of it while you can, before Bradbury's firemen are sent in with the Salamander, to burn.
