Letter: Libraries and bookstores are essential
(Trent Nelson | Tribune file photo) Ken Sanders Rare Books in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 31, 2020.
“The world is closed, so open a book,” said Salt Lake Tribune editorial page editor George Pyle in his April 15 column. The only problem is that libraries and bookstores are closed due to the coronavirus. That makes it tough for people to read books, especially seniors who don’t have the money to buy books and don’t want to read them online.
Bestselling author James Patterson said, “so far Amazon hasn’t branded books as essential, cosmetics are but books are not. Liquor stores are essential, gun stores are essential but the bookstore is not an essential business. You know what, they are essential.” (USA Today, April 17).
Pyle said we need to read books while we wait for society to reopen. Let’s hope that libraries and bookstores reopen soon, as they are essential.
Marty Bernstein, Midvale
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