Life without a library would be a very different place for me. I am a frequent library patron. Democracy without an informed and involved public is a facade. Which is why I am an advocate of grass roots democracy, neighborhood organizing, and libraries.
When I walk into a library I see the doors to many worlds and I browse and perhaps I browse oddly. I like to look at the biggest books when I go to branch libraries. At East Lake I have thoroughly enjoyed many of the largest books which included the fabulous Longfellow Bungalow book, The Mississippi and the Making of a Nation, an incredible anatomy book with interactive CD, Seeing-Illusion, Brain and mind, and the Encyclopedia of Mammals. Also with largeness there is often art and great photographs. My problem (or at least one of my problems) is that I don't know what I don't know and I sometimes need to stumble upon things to learn new things. I wasn't looking for Somali language tapes but they were really helpful in making better connections with my community.( I don't think there are Oromo language tapes yet) A library with open stacks is the wealth of civilization at my finger tips. At the central library it was always a little frustrating that so many of the sculpture books were in storage and there was no easy way find artists who I didn't know in that kind of system. It was quite a few years ago where I got permission to browse a whole collection of fabulous puppetry books locked away in the inner sanctum of closed stacks. I think they were all collected by one person. Libraries are places where democracy can happen. For many reasons the Internet cannot replace libraries. I just can't imagine reading 734 pages of- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire- on line We are heading into an era that is frighteningly anti democratic. In Minneapolis-Parks Libraries, Schools, Police, Fire Dept, Public Transportation and Neighborhoods are all on the chopping block. At the same time there is accelerated depreciation for buying a Hummer combined with reduced license fees. We are an incredibly wealthy country were we are hell bent on being dumber and less healthy mostly to protect the politics of the privileged and contributors to political campaigns. LGA cuts are a calculated and mean spirited attack on things that really matter. We don't have to cut one penny from LGA. It is a politically motivated decision. The fiscal crisis is real but the victim du jour isn't just the Minneapolis Library, it is a functioning democracy. I think it is time to say hands off the LGA. Thanks, Scott Vreeland Seward TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
