“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.”
—Jorge Luis Borges
Since childhood, once I learned to read, books and libraries were a magnet for me. I rode my bike three miles to our local library when I was ten and would stay for hours dipping into any book that caught my attention. When I moved to San Francisco, the first thing I did was get a library card, after getting my driver’s license. When I moved to Sausalito, I joined the library.
After my husband and I bought a house in Larkspur, I joined the local library board, serving for fifteen years. During those years, the Board began research on a purpose-built library building. I’m thrilled the new library, now under construction, is scheduled to open in 2026, and I plan to visit it when I travel there to see old friends.
I always visit bookstores and libraries on my vacations. I adored walking around Blackwells in Oxford and Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and bought many books to take home. Libraries in European castles, monasteries, universities, and mansions store so many treasured books. The scholarship, human insights, adventures, and experiences locked in these homes for books remind me of the saying, “Knowledge is power.” Those depositories of knowledge had sometimes spread ideas that overturned the balance of history. I hope you use and support and treasure your local library.