Assistance for Libraries

* I write to thank you for your frequent valuable coverage of library issues, especially, in recent months, funding problems that libraries of all kinds have experienced and the impact this has on people’s lives. The article that focused on the state librarian’s report on public library financing, your coverage of the threatened closure of UCLA’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Digby Diehl’s commentary (June 18), as well as numerous other articles on library programs large and small--all illustrate that your coverage of what some view as a “special interest” is remarkable for a general publication.

Thank you for your interest in libraries and library staff that work with the children who will be the citizens of tomorrow and the adults who seek to improve themselves through the self-education, joy, inspiration and wisdom a library can provide.

JOY THOMAS, Vice President

California Library Assn.

Sacramento

* Isn’t it ironic that while the NFL and the citizens of Pasadena recognize the importance of libraries and librarians in our culture, the administrators at UCLA do not? The NFL is to be applauded for recognizing that the children of Compton need not only an athletic facility but also a library (June 23). The citizens of Pasadena have demonstrated their priorities in voting for an additional tax to support their libraries (June 23).

Meanwhile, the administrators at UCLA have decided that they cannot afford to support the Graduate School of Library and Information Science. If GSLIS is closed there will be only one school in this state to educate our future librarians and information scientists, and none to educate faculty in library and information science. And they call this the Information Age.

Incidentally, It should be noted that Virginia Walter, pictured at the opening of the NFL center (June 23), is on the faculty of GSLIS and has a long commitment to children and the education of children’s librarians.

CAROLE BAILEY

Los Angeles