In an interview with the Jackson Citizen Patriot, Jackson District Library Director Ishwar Laxminarayan sounded surprised that the milage failed. In the interview, Ishwar sounded like the library was entitled to the new millage simply because they asked for it.

They seemed so sure they were going to get it, they started planning a two story addition to the Carnegie branch- while saying that funds were tight!

George Sewell, vice president of the JDL board, shows the hubiris of the board with this quote: "We made a valid attempt to educate the community about how important libraries are to a community." Wait, we have to be told that the library is vital to us? And if we the voters disagree, we're wrong?

I humbly submit that he's wrong. For proof, I ask you, the reader, when was the last time you needed to go to the library? It's been years since I set foot in one. If I need a dictionary, encylopedia, or reference material - I have the Internet. If I need deeper information on a topic, I've got... Google. If Google can't answer a question, it can tell me where the answer can be found. There is information posted in my blog entries that you couldn't possibly find in a Jackson library, or even a Michigan library for that matter. (Take Lunar Rovers & Duct Tape, for example.)

I'm shocked that a request to double the property taxes the library gets wasn't defeated on a larger scale. (For the record, it was 57% No, 43% yes) Yes, the Jackson economy has seen better days. Even aside from that, why should we pay for an institution that is growing less relevant and less needed as technology increases?

Last time I was in the Jackson library, I saw far more people sitting in the computer lab than I saw in the book stacks. Of those, it looked like half were killing time with chat or game sites. I really can't see a free Internet cafe as a good use of our tax dollars.

I'm not saying that it's time to close the libraries. I am say it's time for libraries to shrink in size and number. We're in the middle of the Information Age. Information is no longer scarce and limited to paper volumes, collected in a few locations. The entire concept of a library as a primary source of information is a relic of times past. The JDL board needs to realize this, and wake up to the fact that they're not entitied to our money just by asking.