A good place to go

E.B. White letter in support of libraries.

( click image to enlarge)

Dear Children of Troy:

Your librarian has asked me to write,
telling you what a library can mean to you.

A library is many things. It's a
place to go, to get in out of the rain. It's a place to
go if you want to sit and think. But particularly it is
a place where books live, and where you can get in touch
with other people, and other thoughts, through books. If
you want to find out about something, the information is
in the reference books---the dictionaries the encyclopedias,
the atlases. If you like to be told a story, the library is
the place to go. Books hold most of the secrets of the
world, most of the thoughts that men and women have had.
And when you are reading a book, you and the author are
alone together---just the two of you. A library is a good
place to go when you feel unhappy, for there in a book,
you may find encouragement and comfort. A library is a
good place to go when you feel bewildered or undecided,
for there, in a book, you may have your question answered.
Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for
books are people---people who have managed to stay alive
by hiding between the covers of a book.

EB White