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Letter to the 29th Legislature

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Below is the letter from FOSTPL Board Member and President Judy King-Edmeade, submitted on behalf of the Friends of St. Thomas Public Libraries, included in packets for the members of the 29th Legislature of the United States Virgin Islands...

October 19, 2011

Honorable Senators of the Virgin Islands Legislature,

We, the Friends of St. Thomas Public Libraries, present you with this gift of literature and hope that you will take the opportunity to read this book as well as share its treasures with others around you. It is a token from us to demonstrate that delving into a good book from a library is a great means of discovering a world of adventure, fantasy or factual information. The members of our community should be so privileged.

The Friends call upon our legislative body to take the necessary measures and actions to get the new library opened in the Tutu Park Mall post haste. Our community deserves to have a facility that is fully staffed, fully operational, and conveniently accessible weekdays and weekends. The Virgin Islands cannot afford to be a part of the current national trend in which the literacy rates for children and adults are declining yearly. We deserve better and can do better when the doors to the new facility swing open.

We elect our senators to do the people's business. If you truly believe that the children are the future, reading is fundamental, and knowledge is power, then please use your power to move the mountains that block community access to patronizing the Charles W. Turnbull Library. Time is wasting. What better way do we have than to encourage our youth to go and visit the library?

Sincerely,

The Board of Directors of the Friends of St. Thomas Public Libraries