A Love for Books Born a Long Time Ago

Reading the wonderful column about books and libraries brought memories flooding back about my own discoveries (“Well-Versed in the Pleasures of a Neighborhood Library,” Aug. 6).

I grew up in Bardwell, Ky., during the Great Depression. Bardwell’s population was 900, including surrounding farm people.

By the time I was 12 years old, I had read every book available, not only in my own home and friends’ and neighbors’ homes, but everything in the school library. This included the Elsie Dinsmore series, which had to be the most boring fiction ever written.

Then came one of the greatest events in my life. The much-maligned Works Progress Administration opened a public library in my hometown.

I wonder how many other small towns across this country benefited from this program. I will never forget.

MADELINE BURNLEY

JACOBS)

Woodland Hills