Libraries Are So Important To Our Evolving Society

October 29, 2010

Is it possible to know the truth of an American Historical "legend", and set the record straight (for all time)? All historical records are someone’s best attempt to shed light and truth on events of the past. New discoveries can help illuminate and clarify the record, but we still are left with the accounts of others for our sources. No one can know everything from every possible angle. And even if someone could, someone else would still dispute it.

Our job as readers, listeners, and viewers is to evaluate, as best we can, the sources of information and the information itself. That’s why libraries are so important to an evolving society. As we argue the direction of our culture and make claims on its past, the potential for misdirection is vast. Vast, also, are the resources of the Mid-Continent Public Library, especially with the inclusion of the 9,200 WorldCat libraries that share with us.

Ronald Reagan loved to repeat his phrase (to the utter disdain of Mikail Gorbachev): "Trust, but verify." Of all the sources of determination we confront each day, it is ourselves that we must most carefully monitor. To paraphrase Mr. Reagan, "Trust your own mind, but verify your beliefs." Use the resources that are so readily available, and move forward with confidence.

Bob B.
Claycomo Branch