I “rediscovered” Marguerite Hart’s gift to us — this tremendous snap shot of history, this homage to libraries — while arranging the papers of the Library in anticipation of a possible closing. The Troy City Council has said that the Library will close if an August 2, 2011, millage does not pass.

These letters speak to a different time — a more compassionate time — when we understood the need for public reading, public libraries. A time so unlike now, when there is no sense of public good, no sense that we are only as strong as our weakest link.

Let us hope that common sense prevails in this City and that the millage is approved. If not, the lessons from these letter writers will have been written in vain.

I know that there exist examples one way, and counter-examples the other way. There’s plenty of great and vibrant stuff going on in the field of community works and libraries. My regret is more for a lost confidence that society as a whole was going to use the mechanism of being organized in governments to do great things for itself. It may still do that, but I don’t think our kids are going to be nearly as confident of that as I was.

(1) My family lives at the public libraries. Wherever we go, even on vacation, we find a library. I often say that we collect visits to libraries. While hours might be trimmed or in danger of trimming, libraries are incredibly busy these days. Here in San Diego, public outcry has saved the libraries from proposed cuts. My daughter collects her library receipts and had them ready to share at City Hall as evidence of “books that she would probably not have been able to read had it not been for the libraries.” (In the end, she didn’t need to do that, but she and her brother did need to speak to City Council about cuts to the public pools and swimming programs.)

(2) As far as public spaces go, there seems to be a renewed interest in Situationist thinking, especially through urban computing. For me, that’s like having a library spread over the entire urban fabric. (Some references collected here, though you might start with Adam Greenfield’s “The overarching vision”.)

Necessary. Not because the pessimism and anger would echo the hope and spirit of these letters; but because now more than ever, we all (not just children) need some advice and reflection on how to proceed.

What fortune. Born at the right time.

This made me unbelievably sad, because I suddenly have this sinking feeling that our generation’s children will not have the same connection with public spaces and public enterprise and civic community that we had. It’s not really a feeling based on evidence, just a cumulative reaction to closed parks, trimmed library hours, etc., etc..