Internet no substitute for a good library

To the editor:

Every Sunday I stop by the downtown public library to pick up magazines and a book or two to get me through the week. I'm joined by a surprisingly large and diverse group of library users - parents with children asking librarians for a book suggestion, young people in groups sipping coffee and having lively conversations, retired folks carrying bags full of books they've signed out, tired-looking job-seekers and researchers working at the banks of computers.

Many weeks, there are people having celebrations on the rooftop or in one of the public spaces that can be reserved, or continuing their book group's discussion out in the full parking lot. And every week I think to myself: these are things you can't get sitting at home on the Internet - face-to-face encounters with people who love reading, a place to gather and talk about ideas, a place where residents share books and magazines and music and movies with each other. That's what our library provides. Our beautiful new library has already been paid for with FEMA funds and donations from those who believed in its importance. On Tuesday, I hope you'll join me in voting yes for the library levy so we can continue to keep this hub of creativity, literacy, and democracy in our city open to all.

Jane Nesmith

Cedar Rapids