This one from Texas:
Editorial: Public libraries invaluable and Unger is a great one
Some good quotes:
Libraries are free to all citizens, and serve every age group from toddler to senior citizen. They unlock the world for young and old through books, computers, audio-visual resources, and important databases ...
and
Public libraries form a remarkable cooperative system. When you consider that the average price of a hardback book is approximately $30, and that Texas public libraries circulate more than 90 million items per year, that adds up to more than $2.7 billion in annual transactions.The value of the knowledge - and just the pure enjoyment of reading (as well as viewing and hearing since libraries increasingly offer vidoes, DVDs, books on tape, music, etc.) - is incalculable.
Oh, and some articles on the ALA condemnation of the Salinas closings.
Posted by Emily at January 23, 2005 03:10 PM