Last week, on two consecutive days, visiting patrons from different Air Force bases in different parts of the country have told me 1) how nice our library is and 2) how nice that Fairchild still has a library because the libraries at their bases were closed down.
I was disturbed by the second comment, but sadly, I wasn't surprised. We at the library are well aware that times are tough (our budget has been practically nonexistent for the nearly five years I've been here), and the military is looking to make cuts where it can. And our library is under the threat of closure just like the other remaining base libraries.
I know I'm probably a little biased toward our library at Fairchild because it's where my perch is at and where I get my bird seed, but in my humble opinion (and you know it to be ever so humble) closing base libraries is more harmful than helpful.
Being on the perch almost everyday, I see firsthand what our library does for the Fairchild community. It serves everyone with access to the base, including active duty and retired military, dependents and civilians, contractors and students (a number of college classes are held on the base).
Military members visiting from other bases and retired military members traveling through the area with family can check out items from our library, something they can't do from the public library without proof of a local home address. If these people want to check out a book or DVD to enjoy in their downtime, our base library is the only place where they can do so.
Many military families living on base are short on cash and often have just one car, which can make things difficult. For stay-at-home military spouses, our library is a place that's not only close enough to walk to with their kids, but an outing that's free and fun. There are books to read and toys to play with. Sure, there's a public library just 3.5 miles down the road from the base, but that library may as well be on the other side of Spokane if you don't have a car and have three small children.
And people working on the base, whether civilian employees or contractors, often use our library because it's near where they work and is often more convenient to get to than the public library which may be a considerable distance from their homes.
Without our library, the quality of life at Fairchild would definitely decline for the different groups that use our resources and services. The people at Fairchild do so much for the good of our country, shouldn't some good be done for them?
If you'd like to help keep the library at Fairchild open, take a moment to fill out an ICE (Interactive Customer Evaluation) form online at http://ice.disa.mil and let the Powers-That-Be know just how much our library means to you. We enjoy serving you, and we hope to be doing so for a long time to come.
Thanking you sincerely from the perch for your support.
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