Barrington library a community treasure

My family unequivocally supports the Barrington Area Library's improvement plan and will vote YES on its referendum. Please do likewise.

Without question, the Barrington area has tremendous things going for it, from wonderful schools and parks to delightful neighborhoods and commercial districts. It's a prosperous and thriving community which we've truly appreciated since moving here. Like yourselves, we've been abundantly blessed by all the community offers, including a highly reputable educational system, fantastic sports and arts programs and friendly locals.

At the core of this collective commonweal is your Barrington Area Library. Pleasantly situated in its natural setting, it serves as the area's communal living room, a place where everyone feels at home, and where one can access an endless variety of creative programming, enriching entertainment and learning resources for practically zero cost.

As library trustee and treasurer, as well as a village homeowner and proud patron, I'm convinced that our library provides its patrons with more benefits for our tax dollars than any other governmental bodies. Appropriately, we want to increase its positive impact on our lives. The referendum is to fund a beautifully designed expansion and state-of-the-art technological renovation of our existing building and parking area to allow for growth of its collections and more frequent and convenient usage by patrons.

With tougher economic times ahead, your library's trustees and staff expect demands for services and resources only to increase. Vote YES to equip the library for handling the area's lifelong learning needs in as cost effective and environmentally-conscious a manner as possible.

Peter R. Johnson

Barrington