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CONTACT THE ENTERPRISE Jocelyn Robinson, News editor jrobinson@heraldnet.com

Libraries hold more than just books

Many of us support our libraries as patrons, voters and volunteers.

In Mill Creek, the parking lot is often crowded, even with recently added spaces. Despite being one of the smallest of the 21 Sno-Isle system's libraries, the Mill Creek Library is the third busiest. Circulation and door count increase every month. Story times are well attended, and there are more easy readers, picture books, juvenile fiction and nonfiction than in any of the other libraries. Young adults often use the computers; seniors appreciate newspapers. Young and old attend classes and events before and after library hours.

We read more nonfiction than fiction. Last year patrons borrowed 91,352 nonfiction and 88,017 fiction books. The Explore Collection, new high-demand trade paperbacks, is especially popular. Mystery is more popular than fantasy. Friends of the Mill Creek Library sell more nonfiction and children's books than fiction, donating all proceeds to library programs, furnishings and grants. In 2004 we voted for a tax increase to save our library, and we may soon vote on a similar issue.

Once a month adults gather between bookshelves for book discussions. The largest turnout recently was for Greg Mortenson and David Relin's "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time," when readers considered the importance of literacy in remote Pakistan, the futility of war and the fragility of peace. Discussions of Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life" and Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It" also drew many readers. The largest group to discuss a novel this year concerned "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen, a novel about circus life in 1932.

Not long ago we discussed Barbara Ehrenreich's "Nickel and Dimed on (not) Getting by in America," and some read Stacy Mitchell's "Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and The Fight for America's Independent Businesses." These books helped a grassroots effort which stopped Wal-Mart from building another store in our area, in East Gateway (Buffalo Farm). The site would be perfect for what many readers envision: a new, bigger "green" library overlooking a community garden and exercise trail; adequate parking; inside, patrons would find comfortable reading spaces, well supplied with current, informative and entertaining books; more computers and media materials; community meeting rooms; open weekdays and weekends; and with many of the helpful staff and volunteers we love -- who encourage reading.



Selma Bonham is a member of the Friends of the Mill Creek Library.