What Would We Do Without Libraries?

Maggie Wolfe's Story

I used to work for a small business in a niche market. Frequently, we would know which company manufactured an item, but not where the company was located or how to find them (this was in the days before the Internet). I would call the library reference desk, and the librarian would help me find the information. A few times I was able to go the library in person and the librarian would take time to show me where the business information in the library was located and how to look things up. What a great resource!

Two years ago, I signed up to take Microsoft Excel spreadsheet classes at the Middleton Library. It was so helpful!!! I took the classes to learn more basic computer skills, to help me in finding a second (part-time) job. I haven't found the job yet, because I need still more computer skills.

But, meanwhile, I have used my excel skills to help my college-bound daughter keep track of her college search. We tracked which schools had contacted her, who we had requested information from, and, after we did online research to find out each college's strongest majors, graduation rates, % of minority students, % of female/male, retention rates, etc, I entered all of the information into a spreadsheet. Kept track of about 450 schools easily, with a space for notes on each school. Having it in the spreadsheet made it easy to organize the information by major, graduation rate, state, etc. When I planned to visit a certain area of the country, I could look up the schools by state, and plan our route to stop by several of the colleges. With the help of this system, my daughter had one quick reference sheet to look at to compare colleges. And it was easy to customize Excel to rank by what was important to us, e.g. schools with enrollments < 2,500, 4-year graduation rates of >85%, and retention rates of >90%.

We used the same system again when my youngest daughter did her college search. Now my daughters Serena and Clare are in college, and both are extremely happy with their choices. I am extremely grateful to the two reference librarians at Middleton who conducted the classes, and their handouts were TERRIFIC! I still refer to the handouts when I get stuck on something.

Libraries are amazing places. KNowledge is power, and public libraries and public schools are America's best defenders of democracy...keeping citizens informed, and providing access to all kinds of information and services, regardless of income, social status, or ethnicity.

My grandparents were immigrants to this country, with limited education. Grandpa had a 2nd grade education, then he quit school to help on the farm. Grandma had it a little better; she made it through 3rd grade. Their families valued education, but each child's labor was needed so the family could grow enough food to eat. When they arrived in the U.S. they worked days, and used the library in the evenings to read the newspapers and books to prepare for the citizenship test. Later, they read for enjoyment, and also my grandfather did research and improved his knowledge enough to pass the test for a better-paying job. They took their children to the library often because they had little spare cash to purchase books to own; that was a luxury for richer people.

The library was a great resource to my family then, and is to my family now. Thank you for all you do.

Libraries, public schools, public television, and public radio... what would our world be without them?

-- Maggie Wolfe, Middleton