Repositories of knowledge in written form can be traced to the dawn of civilization. History Magazine speaks of a collection of “about 30,000 clay tablets found in ancient Mesopotamia [dating] back more than 5,000 years,” for example. Access to written knowledge – literacy – was, however, a closely guarded secret of the ruling classes for millennia. In 18th Century America, teaching slaves to read was considered a crime. Throughout medieval times, nearly all written knowledge was suppressed by The Church.

Throughout the Renaissance, collections of books were controlled chiefly by wealthy individuals, including clergy and lawyers. University libraries were essentially random assemblies of volumes that had been donated by alumni and other patrons (Thomas Jefferson’s legendary library at Monticello was bequeathed to his beloved University of Virginia).

Widespread access to books improved in 1830s America when Horace Mann, then secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, advocated for the establishment of libraries in public schools as an answer to his own question: “After we educate our children, what do they have to read?” The public library system as we know it today is largely a function of the largesse and vision of Andrew Carnegie who endowed libraries through much of rural America (and including both the Auburn and Lewiston public libraries) at the beginning of the 20th Century. And, today, Maine ranks second in the country in the number of public libraries per capita, according to the website StateMaster.com, a fun compendium of all sorts of comparative data.

At the same time, local libraries have been experiencing record growth. Lynn Lockwood, of the Auburn Public library, said that facility experienced “double- or triple-digit growth in most services and activities last year,” including, especially, “circulation of materials among children and teens.” That experience was echoed by Rick Speer of the Lewiston Public Library, who said “2009 was our busiest year ever and the circulation of materials hit new record levels.”

So, access to books helped fuel literacy, and improved literacy helped drive the need for access to books. But “literacy” is itself a little hard to define with any sort of consensus. There is the notion of “functional literacy,” including the ability to comprehend at levels beyond simply reading and writing one’s own name. While Maine has its share of literacy challenges, at the most fundamental level – something called “basic prose literacy,” which includes skills needed to “search, comprehend and use continuous texts,” – Maine is tied for second in the nation, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Education (most recent data available).

From the same source, Maine ranks fifth in the nation in the population percentage (81%) with better than basic eighth grade reading skills. While there is by no means any discernible direct connection between Maine’s enviable rankings of library concentration and basic literacy, area libraries are pro-actively committed toward improving literacy, “Especially among pre-schoolers,” said Auburn’s Lockwood. “Young children are our most important customers, along with their parents.” Early engagement encourages a lifelong interest in reading, enhanced educational and employment opportunities, and contributes to economic prosperity, she explained.

“People from the Federal Reserve have been travelling the country to lecture about the importance [of early childhood reading programs],” Lockwood added. Most area libraries now also provide a wide variety of community-oriented programming, and often serve as a town’s primary community gathering space, too. “Libraries are the people’s university,” Lockwood said, but she added that nothing is as important as offering story time for kids and providing them the opportunity to explore for themselves, as well.

This sentiment is also shared across the river, where the Lewiston library is now focusing on helping to improve literacy among the new immigrant population (aided by a new grant from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation for just that purpose). “The Somali community is being led by their kids,” Speer said. “For instance, there will be between 20 and 40 kids here everyday for help with their homework.” And the Lewiston library now provides on-site access to the newer, more robust version of the popular Rosetta Stone language learning software.

Further good news is that the proliferation of electronic distractions has not impeded the rate at which kids are becoming more engaged with local libraries, and at younger ages, than ever before. And the libraries are keeping up, with new plans to lend electronic readers to adults with library cards, and to offer free downloads of books which, like old Mission Impossible assignments, will eventually self-destruct. Downloads, convenient though they may be, may vanish, but printed words will endure, and thanks to the pro-active outreach of local libraries, there will be a steady supply of people ready to read them.

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