[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17419]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            THE IMPORTANCE OF LIBRARIES IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES

  (Ms. FOXX asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of America's local 
libraries. Libraries have long been the locus of learning, cultural 
exchange and imagination for young and old alike.
  As a former librarian, I know that libraries play a crucial role in 
providing generation after generation with access to great books and 
world-changing ideas. Libraries serve our communities as a sort of 
guidepost along an often overwhelming path of information in the 
Internet age. Librarians still provide the invaluable service of 
helping us answer the toughest questions and directing us to the most 
reliable sources for research.
  For many Americans, libraries are the only place they have ready 
access to thousands of books on almost any topic. By their very nature, 
libraries encourage us to branch out and pursue interests that we might 
not be naturally inclined to pursue.
  The phenomenon that best describes libraries, contribution to local 
communities is a patron wandering through the stacks and simply 
selecting a book because it caught his or her eye. It's this ability to 
ignite our imaginations and spur us to learn that makes libraries a 
lynchpin for thousands of communities across the Nation.

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