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| Montebello, CA Original Library |
Last Friday I went to my local Borders bookstore and stocked up on books. While standing in line, it occurred to me that it was a matter of time before libraries would cease to exist. Then I had déjà vu and I was a kid again at the Montebello Public Library I recalled the two Italian glass mosaic murals that flanked either side of the entrance; one representing Science the other, the Humanities. From that very first time in a library, I fell in love with the sights and sounds that struck me as a child.
Years later when my family moved to another city, that I disliked, we left our large and beautiful custom-built house that my father built, my friends, school and all that was familiar to me. During that transition I also lost my maternal grandmother and cat within months of each other. I was grieving, with no way to express it other than through sketching with my charcoals. At our new place my mother went to work, feeling stranded and lonely that summer, I'd ride my bike to the library, a place where knowledge was openly available to all without the need for a companion or money as the key to access. Having an attraction for elders, I befriended the librarian, she was my saving grace and inspiration–she introduced me to a world of books and welcomed me with a smile on her face.
A library not only signifies a magnificent repository of books but it's charged with collecting knowledge, as a place of learning. Libraries as a receptacle hold books that feed the soul: through arts, culture, intellectual growth, knowledge, and other activities that enhance a life, a community, a civilization.
Over the weekend I heard the Mayor of Toronto wants to sell off the city's public library one of the largest on the continent, to cut city costs (Toronto Library).
I would like to offer the mayor a piece of advise– never give away the crown jewels or you'll be left holding nothing of value.
