To the editor:

I am writing to refute Ed White’s negative opinion of the city’s investment in the new library. First, a library isn’t a store, it’s an organism which grows and changes with time. Since opening, this library buzzes with life.

Books won’t be obsolete anytime soon, because reading a printed book engages the senses in ways a computer screen does not: There is the feel of the book, the smell of the pages, the way different fonts look on the page and the pleasure these sensory experiences play in the immersion of becoming part of a book’s world.

Libraries disseminate information, and information now comes in many forms. The new library provides for all of these. But it’s the synergy in how patrons access the information and the ways the library meets the needs of disparate patrons that creates magic.

The crown jewel for me is the recording studio and editing suites. Since it opened, the studio has been booked solid. The studio and suites make it possible to create a truly professional product. Historians, authors, musicians, educators, filmmakers, charitable organizations and documentary producers are just some who are now collaborating in ways not previously possible. The facility is a wonderful gift to the community.

This library was designed to meet patron needs now and in the future, and judging by the number of people already utilizing its many aspects, it is an investment that will continue to prove well worth making.