Ever since I was a little girl, I loved going to the library. Exploring new places and learning new facts with every book… and then having the chance to take the book home when I wanted to read more – it was like a dream to me. As I grew up and went to college, the university library became a place to study – no matter how late it would be.
When I graduated and moved back to my hometown in San Jose, I was looking forward to visit my local library again. However, I was frustrated to discover that they were only open four days a week – and closed on weekends. Confused and concerned, I wrote an e-mail to the library staff asking why and how I can help. They replied that, “It turns out that the SJ public library is not only grappling with the reduction in hours to 4 days a week at its branches – the closing of SJ public library branches next year is a possibility: (http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_18940474?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com) At the end of the day, keeping the SJ public library branches open at last year’s level of service (when branches were open 5.5 days per week) requires $$ (on the order of $10M).”
Upon learning these news – I was extremely sad to realize that the next generation won’t be able to have the same opportunities that I had when I was young.
I believe that reading is extremely important – it was my love for reading that took me where I am today. While the internet and e-readers are fantastic – there are some things that can’t replace the feeling of turning the pages of a good book.
I wore this very outfit to go study at the library this Sunday, and instead of going to my local library, I had to drive an extra 20 minutes to go to the local university library. I hope that someday, I can study and borrow books on the weekends again.
Please help out my cause for voting for me! I realize my entry is really late, but every vote counts.
Thank you for reading,
-Evelina
