I’m a big reader. For some reason, adults tend to be impressed by this fact. I never quite understand the confused looks on their faces when I admit to how much I like to read. But nonetheless, having a library near by is vital to my lifestyle. I often find myself walking into a gas station with three dollars in quarters that I found in between the seats of the car just to make it to the library and back home. I can’t imagine having to drive to a more distant branch. If my local branch were to close, the number of books I read would quickly and greatly diminish. Which leads me to wonder why reading and essentially learning is among the first to go when the going gets tough. In fact, Harford County Public Libraries have seen an increase in circulation since the recession began.

Just when the community needs a library the most, the fourth most circulated library in Harford County, the Fallston branch, is facing threats of closing . Public libraries typically receive all of their money from tax payers, but during these times, raising taxes for any purpose is not a sensible option. This means the HCPL Board of Trustees needs to employ some innovative ways of raising money. Perhaps it’s my deep-seeded frugality, but I know there are plenty of other ways to save the branch. Several speakers at the public hearing on June 18 presented creative suggestions that would save enough money to keep the branch in business. It is possible to close each branch one day a week, or cut back some of the hours from each branch. Speaker Jennifer Yeh suggested that the library charge a small fine for books on hold, which would bring in fantastic revenue.

Public libraries are such an important centerpiece to the community. The service provided by a public library cannot be matched by any other courtesy business provided by our government. It is when young children first come into the library with a sense of awe and wonder to check out their first copy of ”The Bernstein Bears” that they develop a love for reading. They come back to the same institution as teens to volunteer and assist the kids that remind them of themselves signing up for the summer reading program, and they remain faithful patrons through the painful days of term paper research and for lazy summer reads. Harford County citizens pay decent taxes and therefore deserve such a basic service in return.

Proposing to close such a frequented library, is in such a way, discouraging the intellectual curiosity behind stopping on your way home from work or school to pick up a new book. Supporting an intellectual society should be the last thing sacrificed when balancing budgets. Spending does have to be reduced, but that does not necessarily call for brash decisions. Financial issues are nothing that can’t be solved by a community of brains when we work together.

See News, “Potential Library Closing Sparks Outrage” for more information. Look out for a follow up after the final hearing!

Kaitlin Bobbin can be reached at [email protected].