Homestead mailing list

["Lynda" <lurine AT softcom.net>]

We built our own library in the county I used to live in.  Got a load of
donation and raised another $1 mill or so plus had volunteer labor on the
thing.  We spent hours and hours each year working on Buck-A-Bag sales, an
internet sale, silent auctions, black tie affairs and so forth and so on to
keep the shelves stocked with books.

I sometimes think the more we were able to do ourselves the more they cut.
Well, we could keep the shelves stocked but we sure couldn't raise enough to
pay the employees, at least not all of them.  They too are now closing for
one week a quarter and are down to being open 4 days and 1 half day a week.

In the town we moved to the library is only open 3 days a week and only for
a few hours a day.  There are only two employees and the rest of the folks
are volunteers.  It isn't unusual to see a sign up saying the library is
closed because someone is ill or couldn't get to work because of the snow or
because of some other emergency.

Always amazes me how the idiots in Sac can run around wonder why Johnny
can't read and wanting to throw money at the problem with one hand while
taking it away with the other.  Schools are boring as snot and libraries are
a world of wonder.  So they cut and cut and then wonder why kids don't have
an interest in reading.  Do they really expect the average family to have
the $$ to bring enough diversity of reading materials into a house to keep
the interest of all the kids in a family?

Lynda, who has at least one bookcase in everyroom in the house but still
used the library at least once a week.
----- Original Message -----
From: Don Bowen <don.bowen AT earthlink.net>
>
> The Bryson book came from the library and I just returned 5 books and
there
> is one more in the pickup that needs returned.  I am a heavy user of the
> library making at least one trip a week.  Still the county sees fit to
> spend money on another helicopter rather than on the library.  The main
> library is a 50s era building with leaks and poor access but the county
> would rather build a new jail.  The politicians got themselves elected by
> "law and order", none of this touchy feely intellectual stuff for them.
In
> fact one county supervisor said the solder who killed a wounded Iraqi
> should be given a medal.
>
> Here they have cut staff, hours, and book purchases and still are looking
> for ways to cut even more.  Just over a year we had a new branch open but
> the shelves were only 1/3 full.Just keep them dumb by cutting libraries
and
> schools then maybe they will be good little citizens, go to church, and
> become fodder for another silly war.
>
> Don Bowen
> Awl Knotted Up Woodworking
> Valley Center, CA             http://www.braingarage.com