I read this week about the banning of books in a library.
Sad!
While I was on vacation to Minnesota I stopped at the local libraries near where I stayed. Moose Lake Public Library in Moose Lake, Minnesota which is part of the Arrowhead Public Library system, has always been a home away from home sort of place for me. I, at one time, knew each of the staff that worked in this small library along with the many volunteers who donated their time each week to either re-shelving books or reading to the pre school children at story time, I don’t know many of the library staff anymore but a visit home nearly always includes this special place.
Among the stacks of books are memories, my kids as teenagers looking for a book on … whatever subject they seemed to be interested in at the time.
This library in particular was the site where I learned of a combat buddies death, the one place I was able to get free WIFI to my check email.
It is a place where my Dad for many years also went to check his email and I always knew if he wasn’t sitting at the feed store chatting with his fellow local farmers, I could nearly always find him at one of the computers checking his email.
This visit home this year was not easy, it never is as things change from year to year, but the small libraries that dot the local towns and communities of the United States contain the dreams and future hopes of those who use them, including my dreams that all people can live free.
Like a seed library I found on my visit to the Nokomis Public Library. With this wonderful gift to the community it could inspire an entire generation of gardeners. It inspired me, that I might grow some American peas in my Dutch garden. A success story as I see my pea plant now sticking it’s tiny vine out of the straw bale I planted it in.
With all the wonderful things that a library provides it saddens me to hear that there are struggles going on in some libraries in my native country.
Banning books, burning books is NOT FREEDOM!
If a title is not liked or the contents of the book is maybe questionable to some populations moral leanings, then in my opinion, leave it alone! Don’t force your views on others, don’t quell the information that might inspire or encourage someone in our society to take action, create, fulfill a dream or imagine a dream yet to be fulfilled!
Books make all of us better individuals or society as a collective more diverse in our thinking. Yes, maybe that is old fashioned thinking but it is true.
Slowly reading a book, makes us all think about the world differently.
Do something positive for your local library this summer. Visit. Find out what they have available besides books, free WIFI, or maybe even seeds. It might surprise or even inspire you.
Tell us about your local library. What cool things do they offer? How has a library inspired you?
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