Bradbury champions libraries, again
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- June
- 24
Noted writer Ray Bradbury, think “Fahrenheit 451” and “The Illustrated Man”, came out to support Ventura County Public Libraries in the wake of seriously falling revenues to support that public institution. The news came from Friday’s New York Times.
The story has been picked up by other media bloggers, like MediaBistro.com, but this is my chance to make sure our readers know of Bradbury’s pronouncements in favor of libraries.
“Libraries raised me,” Mr. Bradbury said in the Times piece by Jennifer Steinhauer. “I don’t believe in colleges and universities. I believe in libraries because most students don’t have any money. When I graduated from high school, it was during the Depression and we had no money. I couldn’t go to college, so I went to the library three days a week for 10 years.”
This weekend, he participated in fund-raisers to help the library system with its serious shortfall. Turns out he supported libraries when they needed him last year and the year before that he helped a bookstore he liked.
Libraries in the Lohud region squeaked by with support from our elected officials at local, county and state levels. Without a doubt each one is seeking increased usage with people glad for programs, book and movie loans and reference help. Many libraries are helping patrons with job searching by hosting interview training sessions and showing novices how to take advantage of Web resources.
Some libraries, like Mahopac Public Library kept its budget stable from the previous year in spite of increases in costs. Its board felt now wasn’t the time to push through an increase no matter what. And they managed to maintain library hours and services.
Tough times, need good libraries. I can personally say I have spent more time reading some long-lost books than in past years and it has been very nice.
Sad, though, there have been some bookstore closings in our communities. Second Story Bookshop in Chappaqua is gone. So is Ben Franklin Bookstore in Nyack (read today’s story about the shop’s new renter and her mural images), and Origin Books in Nanuet.
On the flip side I’ve re-discovered Borders Books in Mt. Kisco and found many good selections.
Keep reading and feel free to share your summer reading suggestions.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 at 5:16 pm by Barbara Nackman.
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Dont forget the martian chronicles.
Between Librarirss and used book stores. Thats how i built my own library. Its amazing when libraries sell their books. sigh
my family and I generally swoop to a library that is selling its inventory. need to save those books from never being read again