Back off, Library HATERS!!!

UGH! You all know how much I love library. And as some of you may have seen on my Facebook and or Twitter yesterday, I was in a very rotten mood due to a very rotten patron at my library! He came up to check out a book (keep in mind that he is a library user!) and says, "what's going on in the stacks?" Our stacks are all currently being shifted at the moment due to our renovations. We aren't adding anything on, but we are adjusting locations and whatnot in order to build larger meeting rooms. This will mean we can have more people attending our programs because sometimes they currently max out due to the smaller room size. We are relocating the books and quiet study area to do this. Our Library Friends are also moving from their very tiny used bookstore to a larger one which is great because they do A LOT for us. We are getting new carpets as well, as ours are getting torn, and bubbling up. All of these renovations are being done to better benefit our patrons.

So anyways, the guy asks what's going on and I tell him the stacks are currently being shifted in preparation for our renovations. He says, "renovations?! WHY?! This library is BRAND NEW!" My response? "well, we've actually been open for about 11 years now and the library needs some work." *SMILE* It's hard to be nice to rotten people sometimes, isn't it?! Gotta do it, though. He grabs his book, begins walking away, and mutters, "what a waste of taxpayer money!"

People, I am raging! I am fuming! Is this man FOR REAL RIGHT NOW? He is USING the library, yet he thinks it is a waste of money?

And let me tell you, there is NO better way to spend "taxpayer money" than on the library. WHY? Because the library benefits EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THE COMMUNITY! The library welcomes everyone in this county (750,000 people) to use our resources, and we have many of them. So KIND SIR, would you rather have just purchased that $26.00 book you just borrowed from us, or would you like to borrow it from us for free, just like any of the other 750,000 people may do?

I guess maybe he'd like taxpayer money to go to worse things, such as the people who expect government handouts which benefits only a few people and not all.

Why do people hate on libraries?! FOR REAL. Many people wouldn't be able to read if it weren't for libraries because they can't afford to buy the books themselves. I love supporting authors, so if I could, I WOULD buy all my books brand new, but I can't. I buy the very occasional new book, only for books, series, and authors I absolutely love. The rest of the books I buy are used. But the majority of the books I read are from the library: supports the library AND my wallet. WIN-WIN! I thought authors would be against libraries, but they're not! Just yesterday on Twitter, a dear author friend  of mine and bestseller told me she is a staunch supporter of libraries! I guess authors just want their books read more than anything else, and don't care about the sales money! SO. Let's reiterate. Without libraries, lots of people wouldn't be able to read... and we all know how important reading is. I wouldn't be ME if I didn't read. And how did I start reading, which shaped my entire life, from my career choice to my blog? I started reading as a child when my mother brought me to the library on a weekly basis. SO THERE.