What joyless world it would be without libraries. Mine is in the heart of Silicon Valley. I visit nearly every week to exchange read books, videos, and CDs for

What joyless world it would be without libraries. Mine is in the heart of Silicon Valley. I visit nearly every week to exchange read books, videos, and CDs for new material. On Saturday morning, the parking lot is nearly full at opening time. Patronage is multi-cultural, reflecting the demongraphics of my city. The librarians are helpful and friendly. In recent elections, we've approved measures to increase property taxes to pay for extended hours, new materials, and other library activities. I'm sure there are libertarians that may think we're fools who enjoy paying taxes. To that, I give a hearty "fuck off"! A community is more that just low taxes and our library reflects that. I would strongly fight against anyone proposing we replace it with Amazon or any other entity that would never care except as a money-making center.