Books, libraries still matter a lot

Some of the fondest memories of my childhood came in a library.

I always thought it was an old Carnegie Library, one of the 2,509 built in the U.S. with grants from the richest man in the world. It turns out Crestline, Ohio, wasn't on the list, but the library there -- whoever built it -- was one of the most wonderful places in the world to me.

Whenever I was visiting my grandparents in the summer, I would walk to the library, check out five or six books on my mother's old card and take them home to read them. It usually took me two or three days and then I was back for more.

I loved reading so much, probably more than anything in the world, and I enjoy it as much at 59 as I did at 9. Think about that for a minute. How many things other than eating and sleeping have you enjoyed for your entire life?

I was goofy. I thought all kids loved to read. How else were we supposed to develop our imaginations? How else could we visit any place in the world at any time in history? How else could we imagine ourselves exploring outer space?

Turns out I was wrong. Plenty of kids didn't enjoy it at all, and like me, they grew up and became adults. We live in a country where roughly two of every three adults don't read for pleasure, a country were 40 percent or more are functionally illiterate.

Now I see where Ohio is having big problems. The governor is cutting the budget for state libraries by 30 percent. Shorter hours, fewer days open, fewer people working there.

It's all pretty stupid and short-sighted. We've gone through it here in Los Angeles County and we may go through it again. Since so few people read anymore, libraries are a luxury. Besides, folks who enjoy reading can usually buy their own books.

But what about the kids who haven't discovered the joy of reading yet? If they're to find it, it's probably going to be in a library -- if it's open.

I would imagine if you asked Ohio voters -- or voters in a lot of states -- where the budget cuts should come, they probably wouldn't choose libraries. They might cut raises for prison guards, or ask state employees to pay more on their own health care.

At this rate, the odds are pretty good that we will eventually become a country where very few people read at all, and the majority get their entertainment only from flickering screens, or portable music players plugged into their ears.

There actually was a time before when almost no one read.

They called it the Dark Ages.