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Why the Library Matters to Me

My name is Denise and i have been a regular user of the San Marcos County Library for over 23 years. I'm 71 years of age now. So, San Marcos Library is not my first libary. It is however an excellent library. Through the years I've been in dozens and cultivated a love of libraries in my youth. As a young girl I was fortunate to have a mother who loved going to the local library. Her appreciation for reading and books was contagious. For years now I visit a local library, whereever I am living. And the San Marcos library and County Library system is a gem....lots of books, movies and CD's. Without the library I would not be as well educated and knowledgable as I am professionally. I read fiction, non fiction, listen to CD's, get books transported from other libraries, and have spent many hours having a fuller quality of life because I am reading books that tell stories, share information, bring vivid characters to life and represent how creative we human beings are... authors, writers, who write books that can expand our minds and imagination.

Growing with the Encinitas Library

We moved near the Encinitas library when it was smaller than some of the houses in the area. Even still, part of the draw of the location was being able to walk to the library, and to have access to all it offered. Two kids later, and then the library remodel. Best decision ever to enlarge and rebuild this jewel here, next to public transit, near the small park and downtown, and for everyone to be able to enjoy its coastal location. My kids grew. The library grew. It was fun to watch the huge concrete walls being poured into…

“More Than Books: A Lifelong Conversation with My Library”

I was born in New York State to Haitian immigrants who fled a dictatorship and came to this country seeking opportunity and a better life. For them, education and access to knowledge were sacred, tools for freedom and advancement. That belief shaped my earliest memories, and no place captured that spirit more than the first library I ever visited: the Finkelstein Memorial Library in Spring Valley, New York.Growing up in a predominantly Jewish but beautifully diverse community, I was surrounded by neighbors from every part of the world, including Haitian, Hasidim (Jews), Iranian, Jamaican, Puerto Rican, Indian, Albanian, and Korean…