LIBRARIES ARE IMPORTANT

By Jean A. Turner

Libraries are places for citizens to go to get information, to study, to gather. With trained staff, well-chosen, up-to-date materials and services, they provide an enriching component to a city.

The public library has long been a place for people to gain knowledge about a wide variety of subjects. When you read stories about people who have achieved greatness despite humble beginnings, you often find that they were readers who unearthed the treasures in their local libraries.

Citizens today have a wonderful resource. Our present day libraries not only house books, but they offer video and audio tapes, large print materials for the visually impaired and computers with internet access to assist in retrieval of information. Printers and copiers allow people to take information with them from the sources they explore.

The Placentia library offers many community-oriented activities including reading programs for school-aged children and story times for younger ones, plus literacy programs for non-English speakers, to name a few. It has business reference books, science books, travel books, books in foreign languages, etc, through a wide range of subjects. And it also stocks local and national newspapers and magazines. The Placentia Library even provides passport application and renewal services.

As a junior-higher I worked in my school library. I earned money for college expenses working in the library at UC Berkeley, while earning a BA degree. When my children were young I was library chairman at the elementary school they attended. And when my children left home I always encouraged them to visit and use the library in their new community.

I believe that the library is a very important part of a city. As an elected member of the Placentia Library Board, I would like to extend my passion for reading and learning to the task of providing superior library services to Placentia residents and others who make up the patron base. I celebrate the recently expanded library hours and will strive to continue to upgrade services and materials and staffing.

I would appreciate your support. Thank you, Jean Turner