Schools in districts statewide have been celebrating “March is Reading Month,” with activities all month long. Grand Blanc students have welcomed in guest readers, including elected officials, community members and even Ronald McDonald. Special events have included students researching historical figures and even becoming those figures in a living wax museum, writing and reading about favorite heroes and discussing favorite stories. All of this is meant to foster a lifelong love of reading among students.

Teaching kids to love books is extremely important, but this May, voters countywide will make an even more important statement about the importance of reading. The May 8 election will ask voters to renew a .7481 Genesee District Library millage. The tax is not an increase, as residents have paid the millage for the last 10 years.

In this economic climate, it is very easy for voters to turn their backs, cling to every penny and give a resounding “no” to anyone asking for money at the polls. If that is the course voters choose with the library millage, the quality of life countywide will suffer. The library funds nearly all of its branches and operations through money collected from the millage. If voters do not renew it, the diverse and talented musicians, entertainers, writers and others who frequent the many branches will no longer come. The talented staff members who have been added to the GDL to assist patrons will no longer have jobs. Hours of operation will surely be cut at every branch, and many would be forced to close.

Genesee County voters have proved to be more generous at the polls recently than many surrounding communities. News reports from many counties around Michigan have had stories of vital school, library, health, police and other millages going down handily. In Genesee County, voters have wholeheartedly put their faith in the service millages that have been placed on the ballot. In fact, last November voters approved both a health services millage and a senior services millage even though the County still doesn’t know how they are going to spend the money.

With the GDL, they already have a proven track record for responsible spending. For the $35-$40 per year that the millage would cost most homeowners, the library would continue to operate its branches in many communities, including Grand Blanc and Goodrich. Over the last 10 years, best-selling authors have come to the area for book signings, classes have been offered in everything from ID theft prevention to selling stuff on eBay, materials and accessibility for the physically impaired has been improved at all branches, experienced librarians have been hired, patrons can check out a wide variety of books, magazines, CDs and DVDs and library staff and board members are committed to bringing even more improvements to services in the future. But without the millage, all of the work of the last decade will be nullified.

Preaching literacy to students and the community is a wonderful idea. But anyone who has shopped at Borders or Barnes and Noble knows that reading is an incredibly expensive hobby if you have to buy all of your books. Everything available at the libraries is available for free.

Many people have participated in the “Reading Month” activities in the individual school buildings. Appreciation of reading must continue at the polls in May to ensure that residents without the financial means to go to a bookstore every week still have access to being informed, well-read and literate.

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