The Suburban, November 29, 2006, p. 22-23.
Anthony Bonaparte is right to suggest that readers and researchers have many more sources of information today than they did back in the ever more distant pre-Internet era, and that physical libraries must now compete with online and electronic resources (re: counterpoint opinion Are libraries important? The Suburban, Nov. 15).
Yet despite this reality, institutions such as N.D.G.’s Fraser Hickson Library will never become obsolete because they are not ‘just’ libraries, but also community centres with deep roots in the neighbourhood.
Anyone who has visited Fraser Hickson, now slated to be closed due to a lack of funds, will have noticed that it catered to those segments of the population who stand to benefit the most from belonging to an open, welcoming and diverse community, such as elementary and high school students, pensioners, new immigrants and young families.
If Fraser Hickson does close its doors, it may not be missed so much for its stacks of dusty books or the rather dated architecture and decor of its building, but because of its distinctly grassroots feel and its affiliated activities, such as book sales, extensive periodical subscriptions, computer courses and cultural events, which all make it a pillar of N.D.G.’s English-speaking community.
Christopher Adam
N.D.G.