America's Greatest Resource

Happy Tuesday all. What a blessed day. I started out slow and am finishing strong. If you didn't get a chance to get outdoors you were cheated. I spent most of the day with the windows open, did a little laundry and a little cleaning. I've got chicken breasts baking in the oven and am boiling taters for mashing. Figured I could do a little multi-tasking and get to writin'. Very funny story about that actually. One night about a month ago, in the midst of a viscous bout of insomnia, Amy awoke to an empty bed around 2:30 Am. She peeked in the office to see me on the computer and asked what I was doing. My reply of "writin'" is one of our favorite inside jokes these days. I have been slowly picking my way through trying to write my first mystery novel. Like most things in my life it is a work in progress, but something I rather enjoy doing.

Which brings me to the topic of today's blog. Public Libraries are in fact America's best natural resource. I have enjoyed a love of reading since I first began learning how to do so. This was augmented by the fact that I grew up without a television. Yes my friends you heard me correctly. Because of my Parent's religion they have never owned a television. This encouraged me to find escape in books. In the town I grew up in, Mattoon, IL, they have a summer reading program every summer for school age children. I entered this every summer and actually held the record for many years for most books read in one summer. Between my first and second grade years I read a whopping 909 books! This record was broken by a cousin of mine probably about a decade ago. I believe I won my grade level every year but one throughout the many summers I participated in this program.

When I turned 16, and was legally allowed to work, I got a job at the Mattoon Public Library where I worked until my first semester of college. I worked at the library during their expansion and am proud of the fact that my name is sealed in a time capsule behind the cornerstone of the Library. Working there only added fuel to my hobby of reading. I continued to find many adventures between the covers of many books.

Today in my adopted hometown of Toledo, OH I enjoy access to one of the finest public library systems in America. This is not an entirely biased opinion as the Toledo Public Library system has won national awards. I continue to read a book or two a week on average. Toledo libraries are some of the most beautiful I have ever explored. The main branch in downtown Toledo is a wondrous home to hundreds of thousands of pieces of material. Spacious study areas, hundreds of computers offering Microsoft works and Internet access, and rows and rows and rows of books. This is all complimented by a small gift shop and cafe in the basement. I don't visit the downtown branch often mostly, because I'm morally opposed to having to pay to park in their parking garage. There are however over a dozen branches placed conveniently around the city. I frequent the Reynolds Corner branch near the Inverness club on Dorr St. It is newly remodeled using a lot of green technology and a beautiful library. One of the neat features I commonly use is the ability to reserve materials online from my home and to have them waiting for me when I drop into the library.

Folks, lets get this stated out in the open right now. One of the greatest gifts you can give your children is a lesson on the Dewey Decimal system used by most major libraries. Teaching your children how to make good use of the library is a gift they will cherish the rest of their lives. The Toledo Public Library system offers new DVD movies, hundreds of thousand of books, Cd's, Internet access, quiet study areas, hundreds of magazines and newspapers and much much more. This is all free! Seriously where can you find a better resource?

Now I will be the first to admit that I love the fact that I can research any topic in the luxury of my home office. The Internet is something that I adore and I use it every day. I enjoy the fact that I no longer have to travel to the library and sort through dozens of books to find answers to my research. That being said I do my best to transfer my love of books and reading to my children. Although only 5 years old (and yes if you remember I do have twins) and only in kindergarten my children are already reading mostly on their own. Mckenzie's favorite book is Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Suess. One of the most memorable moments of my life was witnessing her read this all on her own. Spenser can also read these basic books but Mckenzie has shown a little more tendency to read than he. I'm thinking that now may be the time for me to read them one of my all time favorite books, Where the Red Fern Grows. I'm thinking of reading them a chapter each time I have them.

As a side topic to this, in these economically hard times many governments are either cutting library budgets or considering doing so. This is something that must be avoided at all costs (no pun intended). If anything the future of our country lies in the fact that our children are raised with the freedom to enjoy our public libraries. It is no coincidence that America's brightest scholars all mostly have a love of reading. Cutting funding to libraries would be a step in the wrong direction no matter how economically strapped communities may be. These cuts in funding would cause Andrew Carnegie to roll over in his grave. In case you weren't aware of this, the owner of the Pittsburgh Steel Dynasty, Andrew Carnegie, spent a lot of his fortune in the early 1900's to ensure Americans had free access to libraries. Let us urge our government leaders to carry on his legacy and keep libraries free and flourishing.

Meanwhile I've got to get dinner finished and get back to reading my current book "Perfect I'm Not." It's the autobiography of David Wells the famous Major League pitcher.