By Edwin Crayton
A friend told me about a commercial in which a man sees a billboard advertising a hot new mobile phone. He ducks into a store and buys the phone and as he leaves the store, he sees workers replacing the billboard with an ad for a new, hotter version of the phone he just purchased. Meaning of course, the phone he just bought is obsolete already. The ad idea is funny and very true. Technology is advancing rapidly and it’s a struggle to keep up. Yet, we must, even when we don’t like many of the changes. Keeping up with technology isn’t cheap or easy. Like a damsel in distress in a Marvel Movie, you need a superhero to come to the rescue. The good news is, that hero is already nearby. It’s your local library.
One of Superman’s superpowers is x-ray vision. Today’s libraries have the superpower of future vision. They look ahead to what’s coming up in the future, and then democratically bring the hottest and smartest technology to the people—all the people, regardless of race, income or social standing. Today, your library helps the have nots keep up with the haves. It empowers those who lack the resources to gain access to the latest and greatest technological tools. Quite understandably, there are a lot of fears about Artificial Intelligence and other emerging technologies that seem way ahead of regulators and safety borders. Understood. Well, it’s a lot easier to deal with something intimidating when you have a staff of librarians, young and old who can help you navigate through it all and use these new machines to serve your needs.
If all of this is news to some people, it’s understandable, because libraries have long had the image of being musty, overly quiet places filled with books and managed by fussy librarians who go around yelling, “Shhhh! BE QUIET!” Actually, that kind of library only exists in the movies—very, very old movies. Today, libraries have the superpower of being able to be many things to many people in a community. Sort of like a Swiss Army Knife of Knowledge. Libraries like our truly excellent Natchitoches Parish Library are employment centers, print shops where you can compose quality, professional looking programs and documents and make copies for amazing prices. Our Natchitoches Parish Library is also a kind of community center where you can take classes, pet animals, get good tutoring, and learn to handle limited legal matters. But best of all, its services help the poor, students and others who can’t afford new technology keep up. And it helps us invest in our young, which means also investing in our community’s future.
On Saturday, May 16, there is going to be a vote about whether or not to support the continued growth of the Natchitoches Parish Library through the millage tax which is how it has been always done, long as I can remember. Weird to use the word tax, because, really, it’s an investment that pays for itself. And it will cost very, very little. You make less, it will cost you a lot less. Here’s how the vote works. A yes vote means that we will continue getting our library services and the “completion of proposed branch-outs in Natchez and Robeline.” A no vote is not good. It’s a step backwards. It means the library will not be funded and will actually have to cut back on operations, services and even close branches. New branches if you vote yes. Closing branches if you vote no. You don’t have to have to be Super I.Q. Man tp know that for our community’s future, yes is looking a lot better than no.
This is serious. How serious? This parish-wide 8 mil property tax provides 97% of the library’s funding. Without this funding, the library’s next superpower will be disappearing. Not good. We need great libraries to build great communities. Libraries promote literacy and learning. They also help economically, because when companies consider where to place a plant, they evaluate the quality of life and education in a town or city they are considering. They favor towns and cities that rate high in education and that have a literate population. Literate populations need literate, smart libraries. Whatever you invest in your library will pay for itself. Walter Cronkite, the legendary CBS news anchor is quoted as having said, “Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheaper compared to that of an ignorant nation.”
The library has one superpower that I especially like—they give you lots of cool services for free. As a lifelong penny-pincher, free has always been my favorite price. A lot of the library’s best services come at no cost: There’s free portable W-Fi and laptop check out; free meeting room and private study room reservations; free in-person tutoring (online tutoring is available as well.); free tax preparation for the elderly through the Free Community Tax Services Program; free monthly fitness series; free art classes; free outdoor movies and family-oriented events. And that’s just a partial list.
Maybe the most compelling superpower of them all is the libraries ability to serve so many people from so many different walks of life, living in our community. Think about this. In 2025, our local libraries had 43,744 visits to our branches. They hosted 935 events. 51,070 items were circulated—books, DVDs, audio tapes, etc. And there were over100,000 wireless connections.
To the Bookmobile Batman! There were 36 bi-weekly mobile library stops.
Anyone who knows me, knows I spend a bunch of time hanging out at the library. In fact, I am writing this article in the library lab right now. I am truly grateful that when I was about six or seven, my mother took me and my brothers and sisters two places that impacted my life and still do. She took us to church and to the library. She exposed us to Bibles and books. She signed all of us up for Sunday School and got us all library cards. I highly recommend new moms (and older ones) do likewise. Both the church and the library are matchless resources for knowledge. One of the best of all the superpowers in the universe is the superpower of intelligence. But you have to invest in intelligence. I believe a “yes” vote on May 16 will help improve our future and our children’s in a time when change is occurring faster than a speeding bullet. *
“When in doubt, go to the library.” -J.K. Rowling
“The only thing that you absolutely have to know is the location of the library.” – Albert Einstein
*An original copy of the first edition Superman comic book, from 1939, sold for 9 million dollars.
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