The City Library embodies the ideal that everyone should have access to literacy, information and an intellectual life. We’ve done a remarkable job investing in our public library system, especially the downtown library. I got a knot in my stomach when I read the Oct. 30 letter to the editor claiming the library has become little more than a “loitering spot,” and “has been lost in the consciousness of Salt Lake” (“Salt Lake City Library must be reimagined”). I had a similar feeling when a friend of mine declared he would never feel comfortable with his pregnant wife going near the downtown library.
Yes, the library is heavily used by the city’s homeless population, many of whom have mental health or addiction problems. Yes, many of the library’s users dress or behave differently from the majority. If this turns people away from the library, it’s not a sign the library is failing, but that some of us don’t subscribe to its noble purpose. It makes it easier for me to nab one of those prime tables by the window. But to be less obnoxiously moralizing about it, I’ll phrase it in a more pragmatic way: We have a homelessness resources problem, not a library problem.
I’m a research mathematician at the University of Utah who has spent many productive hours working in the downtown library. I’ve done some of my best work there. Sometimes I wear grubby sweatpants. If I weren’t toting a laptop, maybe the author of the Oct. 30 letter (who apparently lives in Murray) would peg me as contributing to the “decay of the City Library,” to use their words.
After college I spent an itinerant year living in my car, showering infrequently, and spending time in dozens of public libraries across the country. They were my only free and reliable source of internet and working space, allowing me to continue my math education before grad school. I’m proud to say the warmth and idealism I find inside the downtown library matches or surpasses any public library I’ve visited (including New York City’s). Keep up the good work.
Gilbert Moss, Salt Lake City
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