My name is Aneta Sperber and I teach photography here at Rodriguez High School.

This is National Library Week, and I’d like to share a bit about what libraries have meant to me.

As a child I grew up in Oakland, California, and my local library was the Temescal  Branch of the Oakland Public Library System.

The Temescal Branch was, I think, a Carnegie built library. It was brick and solid, and survived even earthquake retrofitting. It stands proudly today and is still a wonderful, magical place to me.

When I needed a place to relax, where it was quiet, so I could think, the library was there.

When I needed a place to study and do my homework, the library was there for me.

When I needed a place to explore, to travel in my imagination and dream, the library was there.

When I needed answers to questions, when I needed information, the library was there.

When I needed entertainment– music, DVD’s, and books– the library was there for me.

Libraries are still free, and they offer more than ever. Libraries are there for you, just waiting for you to use them.