Dear Editor,
Please Vote YES on the Library Bond.
The importance of a library that can service the community in which it resides has been proven repeatedly through time. Now, more than ever, libraries are a necessary part of a flourishing community. Commonly referred to as a “third place,” libraries offer a location where a community can gather, for free, for many reasons, not just borrowing books. Viewing the library as a third place allows one to see it as a neutral location other than a person’s home or place of work, where they can gather in the community to create relationships in a safe environment. Children, teens, and adults alike can take part in stimulating free programs during which they form relationships with other community members that help to grow involvement in the world around us. Libraries advocate for our rights as American citizens to have privacy in what we choose to read and a place to access free information.
Expanding children’s literacy should be one of the top concerns we have as a community, and providing the space and programs needed for that expansion is exactly what voting YES on the Library Bond will provide. A growing community needs a library that is growing with them. If the residents of Oxford vote YES to expand our library in the necessary ways, then they are voting YES for growth in our community. They are voting YES to more space that is desperately needed for programs in the Youth Services area. An area which now overflows with children aged birth to twelve and their guardians. Since my family began attending programs at our library in 2002 the need for more space has become desperate. We were crowded into the children’s area meeting room in 2002 so I can only imagine how badly more room is needed now, almost 20 years later, to be able to include all who would like to attend the programs offered in the Youth Services area. I know from personal experience that the Oxford Library is a safe place where our community’s youth can gather after school for various clubs, like chess or Lego, as well as homework help and tutoring. Our library is also a place to gather when school is not in session for gaming, book clubs, technology, and just a quiet place to be.
Voting YES on the library will also include money for a much-needed Maker Space in our community. Maker Spaces create a space that centers around creativity in the community. They often include 3-D printers, Cricut machines, sewing machines, lamination services, and many other services that capitalize on shared personal knowledge and learning by doing. Many of the libraries in our surrounding area have added maker spaces with huge success and usability.
These are just a few of the reasons why I firmly believe in voting YES on the Library Bond Proposal on November 2, 2021. I have always viewed my fellow Oxford residents as forward-thinking individuals who believe that providing our community with the type of library it needs for success is crucial in the times we currently live in. Literacy should be considered one of the most important things a community can provide to its citizens so that personal growth stimulates worldly growth. I believe the community will be receiving invaluable resources from the estimated $50 dollars more which the average homeowner will pay in taxes a year. This will be money very well spent on the future of our community.
Sincerely,
Star Kennedy
Oxford