Full Text:

A Week To Celebrate Libraries

(with cut)

BY SUZANNA NYBERG

There are plenty of reasons to frequent the public library in Newtown. The

choice of what to read is wide and the library sponsors all sorts of

educational and cultural activities.

To that end, First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal, at the behest of Newtown

Woman's Club president, Mary Antey, has declared next week, April 19-25,

Library Week in Newtown.

Mr Rosenthal's proclamation is made in conjunction with National Library Week

and pays tribute to the role of the library in a town and encourages residents

to make a special visit there next week. Visiting this library, he suggests,

can be an aesthetic experience. "This is a beautiful, historic building," he

said. "The choices of color and carpeting and the restoration of the original

reading rooms make it an enjoyable place to read and do research."

There is no substitute for any library. Even today's bookstores, with their

coffee bars and poetry readings, cannot replace a public institution that

supplies materials without regard for profit.

Alana Meloni, the children's librarian, stressed the importance of libraries

to a democracy. "Libraries are equalizers," she said. "In a world where not

everyone has the same opportunities, either in class or at home, libraries

help to level the playing field." Ms Meloni also sees the library as a place

where all, child and adult, can both continue to learn and to read for

pleasure. "The library provides people with anything they need to learn on any

topic imaginable," she said.

Mrs Antey emphasized that since the printed word can do things other media

never can, libraries are essential for the life of the mind. "TV has excellent

programs," she said, "but too many of them puts one in a never, never land. If

someone comes to the library to read, they can obtain a range and depth that

they would not with a sound bite or some other fragment of information."

The Booth Library is sponsoring two events this weekend to kick off Library

Week. On Saturday, April 18, at 1 pm, there will be a puppet show, "Puppet

Serenade." Also, on Sunday, April 19, from 2 pm to 3:30 pm, there will be an

Internet workshop for parents and children. For more information, call

426-3851.