The talk had started a couple weeks before. “Millville can’t fund their library. Well, they can’t come to our town without paying for our library…”
“But what about the kids, they are going to need libraries.”
These are few of many comments passed around townspeople regarding the fate of the Millville residents. First came rumors of Millville’s library’s hours being cut and then the budget and then the hours once again trimmed. A warrant was written with a few budgetary items, the future of our town’s library being one of them. A vote was scheduled. A vote to see if I as a citizen of Millville, Massachusetts could continue to take books out of libraries throughout the state, including our neighboring town of Blackstone. Millville residents went to the polls and cast their votes. The news spread quickly about the outcome of the question at large. I prayed that I could still take books out! I wanted to be able to read, to enjoy the library. But we had lost. By only nine votes or so, but we still lost. I could no longer use any library in Massachusetts because of what a bunch of adults had decided. The worst part, they shut down Millville’s library a couple days later. That meant I wasn’t allowed to use a single library in the State of Massachusetts! The State, an entire state would not allow me to borrow books for school, or for fun. Well, I am not ok with that. How could I be? I used the library all the time and now I could not. This wasn’t the end of the battle for books.

My library closed and I can’t take books out anywhere else in the state. You are probably wondering why. I did too when it first happened. I asked my mom to explain it to me, why didn’t these people want to share their books with me? I wasn’t a bad person. I had always brought them back on time before; I made sure I took real good care of the books. But now they don’t want me to be able to take them out of the library and read them. My mother explained that it was because of the taxes people would have to pay. Many elderly people went to the voting and they don’t want and wouldn’t be able to afford their taxes being raised just so children can take books out of libraries. And then it hit me. This whole issue revolved around money. Millville didn’t have enough money to keep our library open, other towns didn’t want us to use their libraries unless we paid to, and nobody wanted to pay the extra taxes. Really people? Money is more important to you than your children’s education-the future of our society?

I didn’t want to watch the education and grades of everyone in Millville slip lower. But there isn’t much a teenage girl can do. However, after doing some research, I understand a little bit better how the Massachusetts public libraries work together. Firstly, almost all the libraries in Massachusetts are all in a group called the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. This society has laws in place all about how everyone is allowed to take books out of wherever they want. I went on their website and this is what I found: “The Board's broad statutory mandate is stated in Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 78, section 19: "The Board of Library Commissioners may expend such sums as may be appropriated for the extension and encouragement of library services within the commonwealth."” That right was taken away from the town of Millville. We are no longer allowed to do any of that. So, clearly, there is an issue at hand that is now going against the law. How can we fix it? What can we do to help?

My suggestion on how to fix the problem is this. The Libraries should not be paid for by the towns, rather by the state. If the state of Massachusetts funded the libraries then all the towns could pay taxes to the state rather than to the town. By doing this everyone would always be able to take whatever book they please out of which ever library they want. We would never have to worry about having our library shut down and having nowhere else to get books! I hope that people will consider what has happened to my town and my suggestion on how to fix it. If they don’t then the tradition of sharing books with others is doomed!