It's what's inside that counts!  Whether it is the book or the library - it is what's inside that counts.  A lot of money has been spent in recent years on library buildings, fancy architecture, meeting rooms, pendulums, odd shaped roofs that do not function  and other "stuff" that is just stuff - at the expense of the "taxpayers".  It is time to get real and get back to basics.
    The point of libraries since the days of Alexandria and Ben Franklin have been a way to share books and materials for education and enlightenment. And that is because the more people that learn and understand and share that knowledge, the better for the whole community.  The library's mission should not be lost in the art of the committee or the wow of the building.
    We went through a period in this country with people and government at all levels - including libraries thinking that next year's budget had to be bigger than last year's - even if we could not pay for it.  Smaller government entities than the Federal government cannot borrow from China per se so they are knuckling down all over and cutting things out of the budget. Someone needs to be saying - this is what we CAN do with what we have - instead of we can't do without that!
    Squeaky wheels and pet projects rise and and fall, and the quietly useful library is sometimes the brunt of more than its fair share of funding cuts.  But regardless of the building, the furniture or the other facility arrangements - - it is what's inside that can be shared that really matters.   Here is hoping that however the library is wrapped that the inside will still be the focus!