I need my books people

I just discovered that not only are the federal spending priorities out of whack, our municipal priorities here in the District of Columbia are as well. The DC public libraries might be forced to reduce hours because of budget troubles. I have keenly felt the absence of a university library (and interlibrary loan... oh the joy of worldcat! I loved looking up what libraries in Dubai have extensive archives of French newspapers) since I left school a year ago, but this is limit. I understand that a public library might not invest in obscure books about 20th century trends in historiography, or immediately purchase a book about the roles of blogs in the political process, but not making it easy for working people to get to the library?

How can our society continue to survive, thrive, or flourish if libraries are not readily available to people? With handguns now legal in DC, the libraries closing, and Metro losing out on funding, I'm about ready to move to Maryland. Or even worse, New York! Then, of course, I remember that I can walk to the National Gallery of Art and see classic Antonioni films for free on the big screen. I suppose it's a mixed bag. But seriously, DC needs to commit to its libraries, like Seattle, or even my old library system from central NJ.

PS- The fellow pictured above is called "ILL guy."

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