@ your library (R) ......by Paige Turner November 4, 2004

WHO IS OUR PRESIDENT?

By the time you read this, will we know who's going to be our President for the next four years? If we do know, then how fortunate we are to have made our voices heard. If we must wait a bit longer for the final decision, the suspense and turmoil will be difficult but our voices WILL still be heard. You can keep abreast of all the latest news and views @ your library (R). The Mammoth Lakes Library subscribes to many newspapers, magazines and other publications which will be full of the latest information. Come on in and check them out!

In the meantime, here's what some of our Presidents, First Ladies, and other well-known political figures and family members have had to say about, what else but, LIBRARIES!

"Libraries promote the sharing of knowledge, connecting people of all ages with valuable information resources. These dynamic and modern institutions, and the librarians who staff them, add immeasurably to our quality of life." ....President George W. Bush

"Libraries are community treasure chests, loaded with a wealth of information available to everyone equally, and the key to that treasure chest is the library card. I have found the most valuable thing in my wallet is my library card." ...First Lady Laura Bush

"One of the greatest gifts by brother and I received from my mother was her love of literature and language. With their boundless energy, libraries open the door to these worlds and so many others. I urge young and old alike to embrace all that libraries have to offer." ...Caroline Kennedy

"I have a real soft spot in my heart for librarians and people who care about books." ...Ann Richards, former Governor of Texas

"When we build a public library, we don't have to pay to get in, but when we build a stadium, we have to pay the owner every time we go to a game." ...Jesse Ventura, former Governor of Minnesota

"I would walk into the Carnegie Library and I would see the pictures of Booker T. and pictures of Frederick Douglass and I would read. I would go into the Savannah Public Libraries in the stacks and see all of the newspapers from all over the country. Did I dream that I would be on the Supreme Court? No. But I dreamt that there was a world out there that was worth pursuing." ...U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

"I really didn't realize the librarians were, you know, such a dangerous group. They are subversive. You think they're just sitting there at the desk, all quiet and everything. They're like plotting the revolution, man. I wouldn't mess with them. You know, they've had their budgets cut. They're paid nothing. Books are falling apart. The libraries are just like the a-- end of everything, right?" ...Filmmaker and author Michael Moore

"A library book is not an article of mere consumption, but fairly of capital, and often in the case of professional men, setting out in life, is their only capital." ...President (and author of the Declaration of Independence) Thomas Jefferson

TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Who said "I used to go to the library all the time when I was a kid. As a teenager, I got a book on how to write jokes at the library, and that, in turn, launched my comedy career." This person also appeared on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and announced that all of his/her winnings would go to Ohio public libraries.

ANSWER TO LAST WEEK'S QUESTION: It takes one million years for glass to decompose.