Yeah, Francis also isn’t my first, or even my second, choice, but I would definitely love to see a better library in downtown. (There’s an express library on Fayetteville Street.)
So I saw the comments above about, “Ooh, a library, how very 1985! Have these people never heard of a little thing called computers?”
But I am here to tell you that libraries still have a huge role to play in communities, now and in the future. I’m at Southeast Regional Library on many Saturday mornings, and it is packed with parents of young kids there for the programming. There’s also well-attended programming throughout the week, both for adults and kids, and, believe it or not, plenty of people still use the library for renting books. I’m on the waiting list for one book, and when I got on the list, I was #158 in line. So, yeah, people still use libraries.
Since this is a political thread, let me tie this back into politics. Believe it or not, for all of the reasons listed above, people still want libraries in their communities, and so they are vote-winners. There’s a grand opening for a brand new library in Fuquay-Varina this Sunday, and let me tell you, voters there are very, very excited about it. About the only thing that makes people happier than a new library is a new elementary school.