Madam
Chairman, Board Supervisors:
I am a
mother of three. I am a teacher. I am an avid user of the library.
·
Libraries have the privilege of instilling a love of
learning in all
·
Libraries help individuals and families save money
When my
children were young we attended many
library programs. I take my children to
the library every other week to check out books and other materials. My children ask to go to the library.
I also use
the library for my job. I use books from
the library in my classroom. I check out
about 15-30 books every other week.
Fairfax County is growing and its library system
should grow with its population.
·
Fairfax County
has more than 3,300 home schooled children, which is more than any other
district. Home school teachers rely on
the library.
·
In 2012 the head
of the Fairfax County library system stated that the “future direction” of the
library was to transition from “a print environment to a digital environment.”
·
Hundreds of
thousands of books have been discarded. It
is my understanding libraries are still questionably discarding books.
·
Spending time reading a book with a child is incredibly
special. No matter if it is a child in
my classroom who hands me a book and plops down in my lap or with my own child
snuggled in bed.
·
Studies show
that students retain less when reading from a screen.
·
A San Jose
University study titled Reading Behavior
in the Digital Environment, Changes in Reading Behavior over the Past Ten Years
found that nearly 90% percent of college
students favor print media.
·
Research shows that Millenials are rejecting e-books.
Independent bookstores are thriving and e-books sales are down. Even Amazon is
opening bookstores.
·
The North
American president for Pearson, the largest publisher in the world and the dominant player in Fairfax County’s Public
School’s educational materials, said the move to digital “doesn’t
look like a revolution right now. It looks like an evolution, and it’s lumpy
at best.”
·
Investment in technology is expensive and quickly becomes
outdated.
·
Fairfax County
spends the lowest per capita amount on its libraries of any jurisdiction in the
Washington area. Why is this?
Funding
a library is an investment in a community.
·
The other day,
my children wanted to go to the library.
It was closed due to recently reduced hours. Last week I purchased a book for my daughter
because the library didn’t have enough copies.
In closing
I’d like to share the profound words of my daughter, age 14:
“Libraries are equalizers.”
Reston,
VA
Source: The Decade-long Detrioration of the Fairfax County Public Library
System,
Reston Citizens Association, Reston 2020
Committee
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