Ironically one of the best passages about the value of libraries I’ve ever read came from an article about library cutbacks and closings in Pennsylvania:

“In Franklin’s and Carnegie’s times, the library offered access to encyclopedias and books. It gave everyone a chance to educate himself during a time when access to education, especially higher education, was limited mainly to white, upper-crust male elites.

Today the library still serves that role of promoting reading and literacy among children and all citizens, but it also provides critical free access to the Internet for many who do not have it at home, or the latest in Blackberry or iPhone technology.

Knowledge in the 21st century is at everyone’s fingertips, or rather, everyone who has high-speed Internet access. The Web has become the key differentiator between the haves and have-nots in America today…”

The article offers thoughtful critique to cutback decisions and how they affect low-income persons.

You MUST read the entire article - http://www.pennlive.com