READ. READ. READ.
Daily Republic June 07, 2012
By Kelvin Wade
"You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them." ---- Ray Bradbury
Thank you, voters! You did an awesome job passing Measure L, which ensures our library system will continue to provide books and media, children’s programs and long hours for library patrons.
Measure L co-chairwoman Ann Cousineau and all of the people who spread the word, posted signs, walked neighborhoods, donated their time, money and endorsements have a reason to be proud. People of all different political viewpoints concurred on this issue and the communities in this county came together.
So how do we celebrate this great victory? For one, we should use our libraries. Summer is the perfect time to make sure your kids have a library card and see how many books they can read over the break from school. There are DVDs, CDs and children’s programs as well.
What’s cool is the whole virtual branch at http://www.solanolibrary.com. Not only can you find answers to questions about the library and search the catalog, but also if you’ve got an eReader or eReader app, you can download e-books. You can download audiobooks.
If Measure L had lost, I’d planned on writing about what we could do as a community to fill the void. But after thinking about it, even with the passage of Measure L, I’m still going to write about the idea of “Little Free Libraries” (http://www.littlefreelibrary.org).
A couple of years ago in Hudson, Wis., a man named Todd Bol decided to honor his deceased mother, who was a teacher and book lover, by building a little house resembling a dollhouse on his front lawn and filling it with books. His idea was for people to take a book and return a book. No library cards. No return dates. It was just a way to share books with the public.
The idea took off and spread around the nation. According to the website, the libraries have spread to 40-plus states and 20 countries.
It might seem counterintuitive to share books in an age of e-books and audiobooks, but how many of us have big book collections in our house right now? How many have books in boxes in their garage? My brother Orvis has huge shelves of books (some that he stole from me) in his house that looks like an aisle in a library. I used to have a big book collection, too, but books are to be read, not to have shelved. That’s why when I finish reading a book, I give it away. Building a little free library for your yard would be a great way of sharing all of your books and encouraging people to read.
You can buy pre-made Little Free Libraries online or build your own. It would be a great project for the kids this summer to build one and share books with the neighborhood.
I’ve left books at Starbucks or in my doctor’s waiting room using the same rationale: that people will take the books, read them and pass them on. Anything that encourages folks to read is a good thing.
So whether you use our wonderful library system or join the Little Free Library movement, we can provide free education and entertainment all in the palm of your hand. We can’t let ourselves become a people who only read emails, texts and Facebook statuses.
Congratulations on Measure L. Now let’s start reading! Peace.
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