To The Editor:

Being the oldest of five children, I noticed how it was challenging for my mother to find things for us to do. Occupying children is no simple task, but I remember many days of my childhood she would take us to the library. These were some of the best memories of my youth. I can easily recall the enthusiasm I‘d build up thinking about the endless amount of books I would be able to take out. I didn’t know what I would encounter or whom I would see once I stepped into the Wareham Free Library. Story Time with Mrs. Hickey was always something to look forward to, and we would go out and play in the playground when it was over.

Wareham’s Library was a place to let my imagination run wild. With every book I read, I was able to expose myself to hundreds of diversified worlds. By reading, I was able to learn information that I didn’t even know existed. The library helped open my wide and innocent eyes to all the possibilities life would bring me in my future.  Nothing was more enthralling than being in a room with thousands of intellectuals behind covers with titles. Each author had their own message that they worked so rigorously to create.

Education is so vital to each individual. When the cost of living becomes harder each year, it is at least nice to know that there is a place where learning is free. My father spent hours at Wareham Free Library studying to get his Master's Degree. It was a quiet place to concentrate since our house was full of young children.  He said access to the library helped him achieve his degree. I, personally, spent hours after school meeting friends at the library to review for tests or get together for projects. The library was a huge part of advancing my education and learning in conjunction with Wareham Public Schools.

I remember a couple of years ago I wanted to research prominent painters during the Renaissance Era. When I went back to the place that I used to love for this information, it was closed and empty. I thought to myself, 10 years ago this place was prosperous. It was full of life and thriving with the community of Wareham. It is very sad for me to say that I spent the last years of high school watching the library become less and less a part of the community.  It was no longer the intriguing place I once knew. I thought about all of the children in Wareham who were missing the opportunities that I was fortunate enough to have. It was obvious that the town's interest in the Wareham Free Library was dying.

So here I am today writing this, no longer a child of the community. Currently, I am a student at Stonehill College, and I must say that the library is an indispensable part of my education now, as it was in my youth. On occasion, I take out books at the Mac Phaidin Library just to learn something thought-provoking and keep my mind occupied. But soon I will return to Wareham for the summer months and will be greatly disappointed. I cannot regularly go to the library in my own town and take out books to keep my mind stimulated. It is an unnecessary struggle and heartbreaking. As a community we cannot better ourselves if we do not have the resources to do so. Also, we are not exposing the next generation to the beauty and importance of reading books -- so vital, especially in this age of technology. My wish is that it will become in the town’s best interest to help the library be reinstated to the admirable place we once used to know.

Please invest in Wareham Free Library. Future generations will thank you.

Michaela Bottino
Senior Class President, Wareham High School, Class of 2014
Stonehill College, Class of 2018