October 20, 2017
T he C olumbia P ress
Why we need a vibrant community library
Libraries are sewn into the
fabric of America stronger
than apple pie and hotdogs,
but just less so than mom.
I grew up in a town of 4,000
people, a “Mayberry” just like
Warrenton. My mother en-
couraged us often to ride our
bikes to the community li-
brary so we could learn more
about things that interested
us and of things we weren’t
yet aware.
As our age and interests
grew, she drove us to the big-
ger library in the next town.
The mission revival structure
was built with integrity, class
and care. Its builders want-
ed to inspire those walking
through the door. The am-
biance doesn’t whisper; it
screams “what’s here is im-
portant.”
Books have taken me more
places than I can travel and
broadened my mind on top-
ics about which I knew little.
Libraries change us as peo-
ple and as a community. They
make us better.
Libraries are the great
equalizers. They welcome
young and old, the affluent
and the homeless, the immi-
grant and the scholar.
For those who sit behind
laptops and Kindles and
wonder why money should
go toward hard-cover books
and library services, con-
sider this: An estimated 60
percent of those using com-
puters in public libraries are
looking for jobs. They want
to better themselves. Pay tax-
es like you.
That attention-sucking toy
in a child’s hands can’t com-
pare to the socialization of
public story times with activ-
ities, as Warrenton’s library
provides each week. And
they’re essential for children
without expensive toys.
A vibrant library says much
about a community. It says
5
“We care and want to keep
getting better.”
On Nov. 7, voters will be
asked whether they support
a property tax levy to keep
the library open. I hope you’ll
join me in voting yes.
Cindy Yingst
Editor
The Columbia Press
Letters to the Editor
Our library too precious to lose
I urge Warrenton voters
to vote in favor of measure
4-189 to save our community
library.
When my mother intro-
duced me to the library in
Ilwaco as a child, I was so ex-
cited about the opportunity
to find and read any kind of
book imaginable.
It opened an entire new
world for me and I have been
an avid reader ever since. I
especially want that same
opportunity available to the
young people of our commu-
nity. Don’t allow this library
to close!
Please vote with me in favor
of measure 4-189 and save
our precious library.
Baret Murphy-Becker
Warrenton