Closing libraries

It seems that we don't get good news here these days. I learned last weekend, in a small local newspaper, that a nearby little town (somewhat nearby) might lose its library. This kind of news, like the closing of bookstores, always depress me. We are living dark times. I saw the library from the outside. It was a small library, the opening hours are ridiculous, closing very early on week days, even earlier on Saturday, being close on Sunday and an hour at lunchtime. I have the feeling (I might be wrong) that the council was trying to choke it to death, making the place less and less available to the people and making it financially unsustainable. I am cynical, I know. But closing a library, big or small, is downright evil. In another life, I would have loved to be a librarian. But seeing how thankless this job must be, how uncertain it is nowadays, I am glad I am not. On a more profound note, I think we are creating a country of illiterates.