Let’s act like a community
Published 1:02 am Friday, October 3, 2008
Bravo! I am so happy to hear that there are library lovers all over Snoqualmie. We love being downtown within walking distance to the library. My children and I ride our bikes or walk to the library regularly year-round, so I can certainly understand why Ridge residents want their local library close by.
Snoqualmie Library is the cat’s meow. The librarians know us all by name and greet us with friendly smiles. Loretta makes sure we know about the upcoming programs she thinks weOll be interested in. Janet talks with my daughter about her new shoes or the music she is checking out. Sandi helps my son find a book on reptiles while she and I chat about her upcoming vacation. Joy prints out the schedule of a particular program we enjoy. They get the blue ribbon in my book for kindness and friendliness, and I believe it’s partly attributed to the size of the library.
Large libraries do not have the same friendly, hometown, everyone-knows-everyone atmosphere. It would be such a shame to take our local library away from the kids. Yes, a library should be where the kids are. The Mountain View school frequents Snoqualmie Library (they walk), and the Snoqualmie Elementary kids are there all the time, researching and doing homework. We have plenty of kids to be thankful for downtown, and we love our downtown library.
I suggest that you push for a small library up on the Ridge since we do have the large library in North Bend and another brand-new library in Issaquah. Large libraries have much to offer. My family will often go the bigger facilities, however, I still remember with fondness the old, small North Bend Library that I frequented as a child. Small libraries seem to attract small people. It fits somehow.
I want to add that there need not be a battle between Ridge residents and those of us downtown. Are the Ridge residents trying to pick a fight? I doubt it (I hope not). I believe they are simply excited about their new home. They are working out the kinks and hoping for the best.
We are all part of the same town. Neighbors. Friends. Nobody is firing bullets. We all want a quality of life for our families. Can we put aside our differences and ask ourselves whether this issue will really matter in eternity? LetOs not wait for the next flood or earthquake to act like a close-knit community. LetOs be that community now.
Sue Crabb
Snoqualmie
