מילים חדשות

Last month our town council announced that the public library on Herzl Street will close in June. In its place, we are promised a "modern learning center" with computers, a coffee machine and fast internet. Many people seem pleased. I am not.

Of course, I understand the council's reasons. Fewer people borrow books than twenty years ago, and the old building needs expensive repairs. Everything is online now, the council says, so why pay for shelves full of paper? It sounds sensible. But a library has never been only a place for books.

When I was eight, my parents both worked until late. Every afternoon I sat in the children's corner of the library and read until my mother came. Rina, the librarian, knew every child by name. She knew which of us liked adventure stories and which of us needed a quiet place to cry after a bad day at school. No computer did that for me.

The library is also one of the last places in town where you can stay for hours without buying anything. Old people come to read the newspaper and talk. New immigrants come to practise Hebrew with volunteers. Students like me come to study, because at home there are four of us in two rooms. Will the new center, with its coffee machine, welcome us in the same way? I have my doubts.

Surprisingly, nobody asked the people who actually use the library. The council held one meeting, on a Tuesday morning, when most of us were at school or at work. Only nine people came. The decision was made a week later.

I do not think the council members are bad people. I think they simply forgot what a library is for. There is still time to change their minds. The next council meeting is on May 3rd, in the evening this time. I will be there. I hope you will be too.

Michal Peretz, Grade 12

Last month our town council announced that the public library on Herzl Street will close in June. In its place, we are promised a "modern learning center" with computers, a coffee machine and fast internet. Many people seem pleased. I am not.

Of course, I understand the council's reasons. Fewer people borrow books than twenty years ago, and the old building needs expensive repairs. Everything is online now, the council says, so why pay for shelves full of paper? It sounds sensible. But a library has never been only a place for books.

When I was eight, my parents both worked until late. Every afternoon I sat in the children's corner of the library and read until my mother came. Rina, the librarian, knew every child by name. She knew which of us liked adventure stories and which of us needed a quiet place to cry after a bad day at school. No computer did that for me.

The library is also one of the last places in town where you can stay for hours without buying anything. Old people come to read the newspaper and talk. New immigrants come to practise Hebrew with volunteers. Students like me come to study, because at home there are four of us in two rooms. Will the new center, with its coffee machine, welcome us in the same way? I have my doubts.

Surprisingly, nobody asked the people who actually use the library. The council held one meeting, on a Tuesday morning, when most of us were at school or at work. Only nine people came. The decision was made a week later.

I do not think the council members are bad people. I think they simply forgot what a library is for. There is still time to change their minds. The next council meeting is on May 3rd, in the evening this time. I will be there. I hope you will be too.

Michal Peretz, Grade 12

Last month our town council announced that the public library on Herzl Street will close in June. In its place, we are promised a "modern learning center" with computers, a coffee machine and fast internet. Many people seem pleased. I am not.

Of course, I understand the council's reasons. Fewer people borrow books than twenty years ago, and the old building needs expensive repairs. Everything is online now, the council says, so why pay for shelves full of paper? It sounds sensible. But a library has never been only a place for books.

When I was eight, my parents both worked until late. Every afternoon I sat in the children's corner of the library and read until my mother came. Rina, the librarian, knew every child by name. She knew which of us liked adventure stories and which of us needed a quiet place to cry after a bad day at school. No computer did that for me.

The library is also one of the last places in town where you can stay for hours without buying anything. Old people come to read the newspaper and talk. New immigrants come to practise Hebrew with volunteers. Students like me come to study, because at home there are four of us in two rooms. Will the new center, with its coffee machine, welcome us in the same way? I have my doubts.

Surprisingly, nobody asked the people who actually use the library. The council held one meeting, on a Tuesday morning, when most of us were at school or at work. Only nine people came. The decision was made a week later.

I do not think the council members are bad people. I think they simply forgot what a library is for. There is still time to change their minds. The next council meeting is on May 3rd, in the evening this time. I will be there. I hope you will be too.

Michal Peretz, Grade 12