Our Viewpoint

Hospitals. Schools. Churches. Museums. All valuable buildings that should always be protected.

Let’s add libraries to that list.

It should come as no surprise that as the owner of a newspaper, I value reading. I love holding a book in my hands, listening to the sound of pages turning one by one, and the way my bookmark tracks my progress while I read. I’m a lover of books and certainly believe in access to information of all kinds.

Last week, the city of Thompson Falls met with county commissioners and board members from the Thompson Falls Public Library to discuss the possibility of the county taking over the library and thereby ending the interlocal agreement between the city and county. The details of the city-county plan are not nearly as important as the reasons we should work to keep libraries open.

First and foremost, libraries are truly the great equalizer. Their resources are for everyone, regardless of age, race, religion or socioeconomic status. They provide safe, private, accessible and 100% free services for all users, and those services go far beyond books on a shelf. And they provide so much more than books. Community libraries offer myriad programs for people of all ages. There are story times and presentations by experts, literacy programs and genealogy resources, voter registration forms and tax information.

At the Thompson Falls Public Library, you will also find local information in the free visitor center area. That space is busy now with all of the summer tourists. The library also provides wi-fi for its patrons. I don’t have internet at my house, so I have taken advantage of the wireless hotspots available throughout the library. Many people don’t have computers or printers, and libraries provide those for public use as well.

Libraries are a valuable resource for everyone. We are fortunate that we live in a county with a dedicated board committed to keeping this resource available to everyone. May we be an example to other places that close the doors on this vital American institution. We need libraries now more than ever to combat a culture of ignorance, intolerance and untruths.

— Annie Wooden