At the Library

     Day to day, I watch the tides of interlibrary loan.  Books and media of all sorts move in and out of my department.  Other libraries' items flow in for our patrons, and our items flow out for others.  The variety is amazing.  Just this past week, we have received or sent items on a wide range of topics, including art, history, religion, science, economics, and psychology.  Materials in multiple languages have crossed my desk - English, Spanish, Polish, Mandarin Chinese, Hindi, French, and Gujarati.  In addition to the novels, movies, music and children's books of all flavors, we have facilitated access to books on subjects as diverse as woodworking, philosophy, teaching methods, and real estate.  Practical matters like nutrition, car repair and sewing were represented as were academic studies like chemistry and medicine.  Our patrons are interested in everything from computer programming to learning Korean to politics and world events.  Without exaggeration, I am continually impressed by the hunger for knowledge.

     The spectrum of interests our patrons display might surprise some.  Ours is not one of the wealthier library districts in the area.  Its citizens rarely fit the stereotype of the privileged suburbanite.  Many have low paying jobs or little more than the basic formal education.  Though there are places that would be classified more disadvantaged, we still have patrons who struggle and squeak by from week to week.  Yet, their interests are as open and lively as anyone else's.  People are eager to learn.

     The experience of examining the tide of requested materials in interlibrary loan demonstrates one thing clearly.  Economic status has no bearing on intellect.  It is no indicator of drive or curiosity about the world.  All that can be said is that poverty limits opportunity.

     In our society, formal education past high school carries a cost that's steadily rising beyond the reach of many.  Political choices threaten access to information or strip away opportunities for minorities to pursue their studies.  Scholarship programs are dwindling.  In a climate that favours keeping education reserved for those who can afford the privilege, it is more important than ever to support the opportunities for free informal education.  Libraries provide those opportunities, and I'm happy to be a part of that.

     You might think I speak so glowingly of libraries because I work for one; the truth is, I work at the library because I believe in the noble goal.  I have, at some level, believed in libraries from the first time I stepped aboard the bookmobile that would visit Cedar Hills Elementary School.  Suddenly, a world that had been limited by the selection of books my family had collected was broadened to new vistas I had never considered. This is the truth of human nature.  A curious mind can't be contained by the limits of a wallet.  A poor child with a library card is free to explore their potential in ways the accident of their economic status would not otherwise allow.

     I've stuck with the library for more than 20 years now.  I've weathered the changes and even the decisions I disagreed with, all because I see worth in what I do.  At their core, libraries are one place that truly holds to the American ideal that all men are created equal.  Information, education and opportunity belong to everyone, and all people are entitled to pursue their potential with dignity.

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