I can't believe we're even in this position. Libraries and access to art, music, film and literature are the basis of community and culture. Reading expands your mind, your knowledge base and increases your capacity for empathy and creativity.

Public libraries have been a lifeline for me through my years as a young mother and homemaker, and even now as I forge a new life on my own. I love that I can rely on my local libraries for so much. When I was a young mother the public library was a special destination for my children and I. We read more books, were exposed to a variety of world music and film than we could otherwise. Now I read less and listen more. I'm always talking about the Libby app and how we don't have to be left out because we can't afford it. I love my local libraries. My children learned to do research, talk to new adults, navigate the stacks physical and digital, and to feel confident and responsible as they used their own library cards. They also learned that their were safe spaces beyond the walls, church, or school. My grandchild now goes to the library too. It's a wonderful legacy. I love my local libraries. When I visit a community library I instantly feel a sense of possibility and wonder. I'm excited to explore and to greet the staff. Utilizing the interlibrary loan system that is bit like walking into the Tardis. I love Massachusetts libraries.

My love of reading started when I was 8 years old at the Stoneham library. And now it continues at the Melrose library. I introduced my children and grandchildren to the library and now my great-grandchildren. Happy memories are made at public libraries. The must be funded!

I learned to love books and reading through my public library. I have been a reader my whole life. By taking funding away from libraries, you are taking access away from millions of children nationwide who are learning to love reading, books, and might need a safe space. There is so much that libraries can do for people.

Libraries are a vital part of the community. It is one of the few places where people can gather and access a huge variety of resources without worrying about cost. Personally, books have provided me with a needed escape and a multitude of learning opportunities. Communities are weaker without libraries.

Since a head injury I have not been able to read for more than 20 minutes, and at first, not at all. Libby and audiobooks have been my main source of respite and enjoyment for years. I’m grateful for MA libraries for making this possible!!

I have a neurological disorder that makes reading difficult. My public library is the only place where I can access texts to train my brain into reading properly. Without the access to a large volume of high quality print materials I don't know how I would be getting better.

You always try to answer my questions. You help me to find books for my mom. You have a working Fax.

My whole life, libraries have been my refuge, from conflicts in my parents house, a way to read books I could not afford and later, at college, a quiet place to learn. I go to my local BPL on Boylston Street, every week and am heartened and delighted by the variety of users, and visitors it receives. I see myself in the children and young teens, who can now access so many tools for learning and enrichment. Thank you libraries everywhere, especially, in Bosyon, MA.

I appreciate the Whitman Library so much! I regularly check out fiction books, and often use their nonfiction section for research, cookbooks, and recently checked out a book on shed building including plans and blueprints on ILL I will use to build my own shed. I also love to check out ebooks on my ereader and occasionally use audiobooks on my phone. The streaming services are excellent as well, and helps me not have to pay for other services. I love the library!

I love my local library - the librarian has great recommendations and actively seeks out authors and titles of interest to the community. Our library is a great resource for our small town. Further, through Libby and CW Mars I get much wider access to ebooks and audiobooks!

I fell in love with libraries as a child and never fell out. I’m a lonely champion of my local libraries, telling friends and anyone who will listen- the library is a treasure. Don’t buy; borrow! I visit weekly. Walking the shelves in quiet meditation, a tactile thing in a digital life. Knowledge in a misinformation algorithm. I borrow books, magazines, sewing machines, games, tools, museum passes. There isn’t a social resource, I’d say, more vital to our imaginations and well being.