Jul 22, 2017 1 min read

Accolades and kudos for the July 3 Observer-Reporter editorial on the importance of libraries. It highlighted the communities of Upper St. Clair, Peters Township and Mt. Lebanon, which “invest heavily in their libraries.” Benjamin Franklin, founder of the American library system, would be most pleased with the performance of the library boards in those communities.

Regretably, not all library boards view libraries as being the cornerstones of community enlightenment. Such board members could be categorized as “nattering nabobs of negativism,” to use the words of the former Vice President Spiro Agnew. They see libraries as being an extravagant waste of taxpayer money. Furthermore, they wrongly believe the personal computer is pushing libraries into obsolescence.

Shame on those naysayers.

I am led to believe that only 10 percent of recent fundraising mailings were honored by our community. Does that indicate that our library is nearing obsolescence? Or does it mean that our library is sadly under-equipped to serve the growing needs and demands of patrons? Which one is it?

Paul Lagojda

Cumberland Township