Chapter 29

I found Julie hunched over with her nose an inch from a computer monitor. I didn’t ask, but I walked really close to her chair so she’d notice me.

She did. But I didn’t hear any “glad you’re here” words. She was in grunting mode.

After I clocked in and stashed my bag, she pointed to the monitor so I could see what she was reading. It was an online version of the weekly paper. We had one of those? The site had a section where a reader could access all the letters to the editor by subject. Julie slid her cursor up and down pages and pages of text.

Apparently people had opinions about the library bond. After a few more minutes of reading and scrolling, Julie slid her chair out from the desk and rubbed her eyes.

I pointed to the screen. “Can I?”

She held the chair out for me and nodded. She didn’t leave, though. She leaned over my shoulder and read the letters again.

The citizens of this community work hard for their money. They support multiple programs, endeavors, and policies. But the funding for pet projects is not the job of the government. Basic needs are being met by the tax dollars we willingly pay. No one should ask us for more to support something that should be privatized. Bring your little library into the twenty-first century and get your own funding. Let our neighbors keep the money they work so hard to earn. Vote no on Bond Proposition 4.

Jerry Mandalay
Concerned Citizen

Dear Editor,

Mr. Mandalay clearly misunderstands the long and storied tradition of public libraries as a government institution.

There was a long paragraph that I skipped, even though the writer amused me with her “storied” pun, but I didn’t care at the moment for her take on the historical value of American library system and Benjamin Franklin. She ended with this:

We are happy to keep the library we have, but we don’t need to spend more money. What we have is enough. I’ll also vote No.

Stephanie Wilkins
Bonner’s Glade

The library has the same books that have been there since I was a child. We should be reading the classics. Everything new is smut and filth anyway. Let’s make do with what there is and be grateful that we have any books at all. Vote No. Keep it clean.

Julie’s eye roll was practically audible. I didn’t say anything.

As a member of the city council, I plan to listen carefully to all sides of the library bond issue. I have had opportunities to hear from citizens and library patrons and developers, and I refuse to come to a snap judgment. I hope all the voters in this town will do the same. Become educated. Inform yourself. Talk to people. Take into consideration what is best for this community that we love.

Ms. Marnie Blum, attorney
City Council Member

Julie shook her head. “You know when people try to be so fair that they say a lot while saying absolutely nothing? If I ever need a lawyer, remind me not to call Ms. Marnie Blum, attorney.”

Everyone needs a library! The soul of Franklin resides in that rickety old Victorian house. Walk inside. Breathe in the glow. Allow it to penetrate your barriers and move you to greatness.

Mary Elise Gold
University Student

I resisted saying a word. Any word. In fact, I held my breath well into the next letter. Because an ill-timed snort about souls and barrier penetration could ruin this day. But I bet Marigold would have loved that one.

I love that beautiful old building. If the library has to close, I hope the city will turn it into a gallery for the community artists to exhibit their work.

Mr. Henry Tran

Julie blew out a breath and popped two green gummy bears into her mouth. “Has Mr. Henry Tran ever come inside this beautiful old building? Did he manage not to see any of the local art we display every single day? Dear Mr. Tran, let’s add a new pair of glasses to the bond for you.” She swept a stack of waste paper into the recycle bin. “Why do we even write letters to newspapers anymore? Does anyone even read the paper? And who needs a newspaper when we can Google anything in the universe? And while we’re at it, who needs paper at all? Honestly, can you think of anything”—her sarcasm tuned to fake innocence—“anything at all that is better with paper than without it?” With a pointed look at the restroom and a shrug, she went back into her office, muttering.

There was one more letter.

Who Needs the Library:
An Honest Look Inside

In the upcoming election, voters will see an article on the ballot for a tax increase. This tax will serve to give our town’s public library an even larger percentage of tax revenue. If voters look honestly at the situation, they will come to see that the library is an outmoded and unnecessary piece of Americana that we can allow to bow gracefully out of our community.

The library is a place to find and borrow books. Books are available for free online or from multiple retailers. Most of us have digital reading devices in our mobile phones, in our computers, and on our other handheld devices.

Once, libraries were a research facility. Now, every man, woman and child can access a wealth of information on every subject imaginable from the comfort of home. The thousands of dollars spent on reference materials, outdated almost before they reach the shelves, are dollars better spent on useful civic projects.

Libraries do not support authors. Thirty, fifty, or a hundred families may read the same borrowed copy of a book, but the author sees royalty for only one sale.

Libraries have become free day-care centers where parents drop off their children and come back for them hours later. This is not an activity that should be paid for through our taxes.

In this digital age, the library of yesteryear is but a glowing memory. We do not need a library, and the one we have certainly does not deserve a greater portion of our money.

Vote No next week and let the memory of the Franklin library rest in peace.

I clicked the browser window closed. Well. At least we knew how people felt.

And I felt sick.