Editor:

The cost of a new library brings about serious debate, as it should. Recent letters indicate there are additional facts that should be added to this debate.

As to the statements in a recent letter, I cannot speak to the other communities Mr. Sadler mentions and their individual needs. I can only address the needs of our home in Natrona County. Each community and its library are responsible for addressing their own needs. Natrona County is noticeably growing. As such, a new library project is appropriate to continue serving our community.

As reported in this newspaper, the resolution on the ballot in November establishes the amount that would be collected though the temporary penny tax: $43.6 million. No bureaucrat, no politico, no organization can change the fact that this temporary penny will expire on its own terms once the amount set forth in the ballot is reached. This temporary penny tax is created solely by the voters, and it ends by law.

The Cheyenne library project totaled approximately $26.9 million and started in 2003. Based on information obtained from local professionals, construction costs in Natrona County are currently rising at approximately one percent per month. The Cheyenne library project would therefore cost $47.4 million today. So, when adjusted for current construction inflation, a new Natrona County Public Library would be comparable in cost with the Cheyenne library.

A library is the most democratic of institutions. It serves all comers. Adults and children - regardless of race, creed, religion, societal or economic status use public libraries. A place to learn, enjoy, meet, to discuss, and to debate. Open to all and open for free. It serves every member of the community by providing a place of learning, as well as the promotion of literacy.

It serves up knowledge in an information age. Our library enrolled approximately 3,000 children in its reading program this summer, including approximately 550 teens. Additionally, 900 adults participated. That many children and young adults reading books is a figure upon which we can be proud.

Now, the library needs our support to keep delivering strong and vibrant service to our future citizens. This is about our future. Our children. Our families. The community in which we want to live.

JOHN MASTERSON, Casper