Love my library

My introduction to the Cape Girardeau Public Library dates back 80-plus years. Once I learned to read, I made it my business to get a library card at old Carnegie in Courthouse Park. Believe me, that little yellow card has been and still is my ticket to contentment. Except for a Cardinal baseball game, I have no problem turning off the television to read a newly checked-out biography or novel. Simply put, I love my library.

So it’s no surprise I object to the Speak Out letter published June 20. In case you missed it, here’s an excerpt: “If the city wants to cut unnecessary spending they can start by shutting down the Cape Public Library. ... Nobody really uses the library anymore. So the taxpayers are paying for a bunch of old books collecting dust.”

So far, two Speak Out comments have surfaced in defense of our outstanding library. Now it’s my turn to set things straight with a statistical summary of the library usage from July 2016 through June 2017:

• Total circulation of items, physical and digital: 233,387 (163,239 were books and 18,214 were e-books)
• Patrons also check out magazines and music (CDs, DVDs, software and games)
• Staff issued 1,382 new library cards
• Averaged 500 visitors a day
• Meeting rooms were booked 1,008 times
• Assisted 1,432 people applying for passports
• Logged 32,949 sessions on public internet computers where people are looking for jobs, writing resumes, applying for employment and filing taxes
• Added 5,456 new books and 818 new DVD titles
• Youth services staff offered 288 story times to 9,521 babies and preschoolers and 216 programs to 8,031 youths in kindergarten through fifth grade
• Adult services staff offered 173 programs that 3,757 people attended

These impressive numbers certainly knock down the claim that nobody really uses the library anymore. Most days the building is a hub of activity with a stream of visitors taking advantage of literary and cultural advantages.

Paging through the library’s program guidebook, I discover even more evidence of ongoing community service. A partial list includes periodic Red Cross blood drives, family trivia nights, Scholastic book fairs, book discussion clubs, dance classes for adults, meal preparation sessions and multiple arts and crafts projects.

Especially popular with the public are the twice annual book sales sponsored by the Friends of the Library. Book donations from hundreds of local families are brought to the library year round, with sale weekends scheduled for fall and spring. I seldom miss these gatherings to search out biographies and historical fiction (for me) and children’s books (for my great-grandchildren).

Paying city taxes is an annual expenditure I’ve become accustomed to, and for the most part, I’m satisfied with how my dollars are spent. High on my appreciation list are the weekly dependable city trash and recycling pickups, well-kept and beautiful parks, summer concerts by the municipal band and, of course, the Cape Girardeau Public Library.