My wife and I moved to King County 51 years ago when I got a job in Kent. During all this time we have been patrons of the King County Library System. The last 33 years we used the library branch in Black Diamond to access King County’s rich and extensive collection. For example, as I write this I have 21 items on hold at the library, which includes DVDs of this year’s Oscar winners, 10 episodes from a PBS mystery series and DVDs of movies from 1934 and 1943.

We also became members of the Friends of the Black Diamond Library. Although our Friends group does not control the Black Diamond branch, we certainly influenced the KCLS board with regard to the new library building and staffing pattern in the Black Diamond branch. Our local Friends group does decide how the money we raise with book and plant sales is used to enrich the library’s education programs for young people.

Living near Black Diamond our children attended Enumclaw’s schools. People in Enumclaw seemed proud of their schools and always supported the special school levies. The city appeared to be a nice, quiet community that took pride in itself. So a year ago when we decided to downsize, we happily chose to move our home to Enumclaw. Of course, we still use the Black Diamond branch of the King County Library.

Now I learn that the Enumclaw City Council has unanimously chosen to end having the city provide library services to the people in Enumclaw. This not only means the children and adults that have used the Enumclaw library will be without library services but that the King County Library System will no longer allow Enumclaw citizens like myself to continue to slip over to Black Diamond to use the King County Library System.

If you believe as I do in libraries and education and informed citizens, the only real solution for us is to vote to join the King County Library System and gain access (right from your home computer) to the largest library system in the United States.

Cory Olson

Enumclaw