My hand shoots up in the air.

On average, I end up walking (or driving) to our local library branch twice a week. Sometimes material is on hold ready for pick up. Sometimes I return books and CDs. Sometimes I do research (yeah, even with the mighty Web available). So, I'd be cast adrift if our libraries suddenly closed.

I hear things. Like the jittery librarians whispering at the returns desk on how their hours are getting cut. Again. I see things. Like the library computers filled with busy patrons, and a waiting list queues up the next users. I believe it's thirty minutes on a computer now.

I don't have any statistics to cite, but I've heard of entire library systems closing in parts of the country. Hopefully not yours. Do the taxpayers protest it? Or is the library just a soft target to hit when tightening the cash-strapped budgets?

All is not dark. What I find most cheering is being in a crowded library. It happens a lot. Kids carry stacks of books, CDs, DVDs, or whatever while their parents are also loaded down with checked out stuff. My wife recently said she saw a kid asking for where to find the Westerns stacks! Was reading a Western for a school project?

I still get a kick out of wandering through the stacks, browsing the different titles. For instance, this week I checked out James Dickey's Deliverance just because I saw it and was curious enough to try it. So far, it's been a terrific read.

That reminds me. I have to go to the library later on today.

Ed Lynskey
@edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles and Quiet Anchorage