Not all readers are leaders but all leaders are readers.
Maybe you thought library usage fell when the Internet came along. Not so. Library usage has increased, and libraries are expanding to meet the need. Pew Research has details about this. (Click there.)
Candidates for office may not realize that the voters are using the libraries, Over fifty percent of people in these groups use the library: 38% Hispanics, over half of all college graduates, people with incomes from 30-50 thousands a year, and young people 15 to 29, the very basis of the voting public that needs to be reached.
Andrew Carnegie
Thanks to multi-millionaire Andrew Carnegie, many local libraries sprung up like mushrooms in the 19th-20th centuries. Carnegie said anyone who “died with money in his pocket was a poor man.” He, even though a native Scotsman, gave as much money away as possible to the United States, and if you are looking for a fine university that is not plagued with political correctness, try Carnegie-Mellon.
Movie Stars
Memorizing page upon page of dialogue is no mean task. Many young movie stars are eagerly welcomed into tough universities, and not because they are rich. People who can memorize are happy where the challenges and other students are not pushovers.
- Angela Bassett
- Conan O’Brian
- Meryl Streep
- Natalie Portman
- Tommy Lee Jones
- Matthew Fox
- Brooke Shields
Blue Bloods star, Tom Selleck , is often seen at night reading a book after a long day at the office while enjoying ten long seasons of TV popularity. Whoopie Goldberg is another reader. You do not need to agree with these fans of learning in order to admire their zeal. The brain is an organ which thrives on exercise, just like the rest of the body.
Libraries need trained librarians
As scientific research expands – I was told it doubles every two years now – the need for trained librarians is on the rise. And consider this too; it is a pleasant air conditioned environment. We never heard of shooting in libraries. About the only problem you’ll ever have is someone losing a book they borrowed or failing to pay a 5 cent fine. What a life!
So why are leaders readers? Because life is about life-long learning. Those who slip behind are those who are not keeping ahead. Reading does that.
This year voters will choose candidates in primaries across the land. Please choose the person who will fund libraries, even though it is not a major issue anywhere. Thank you.
#libraries #librarians #lifelonglearning #leadership
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”Thanks to my reading, I have never been caught flat-footed by any situation, never at a loss for how any problem has been addressed. … It doesn’t give me all the answers, but it lights what is often a dark path ahead.”
-General Mattis
Both sides of the political system need to recognize the power of a book in the hands of someone who is eager to learn. We must feed that hunger until it is all consuming rather than stiffle it.
Programs like Little Free Library of started across the country to give people more access to books. In an age where any fact can be found online there is still no match for reading a book, feeling the paper, taking notes in the margins, etc.
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