Melanie Huggins

Across the country, libraries have been making headlines. Unfortunately, it's for all the wrong reasons.

[Connie Springer]

I live in the Hamline Hi Rise on Hamline and Minnehaha and several of the senior citizens or diabled residents in the building use this library on a regular basis.

I personally use the library's Internet services several times a week and also order from the New York Times Best Sellers List and have the library put the books on reserve for me. I also enjoy reading the newspapers, renting movies and DVDs for my stereo, using the reference books and using world cat terminals to look for periodicals when researching a certain subject. We have a bookmobile stop at the Hi Rise but none of the services I desire are offered through the bookmobile. I also attend the "Great Books" group and yoga classes at the library.

The library was just recarpetedand some additional Internet terminals were installed because usage of the Internet is so high. Even with the additional terminals I have always had to wait to get on the Internet. Melanie Huggins said in her editorial that libraries are no longer about the books. I implore that she reconsider her decision to close Hamline library on that basis alone.

[Thanks]

"Men sleep peacefully in their beds at night because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."