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BIG-BOX BOOKSTORES ARE NO HELP

I was a loyal Thunderbird customer with May Waldroup at her wonderful independent bookstore and mourned that shop’s demise; consequently, I take umbrage with last week’s column in this newspaper when the editor takes a stand for big-box stores [Local Spin, Jan. 25-31].

It seems to me that one cannot be praising the fantastic qualities of a locally owned bookstore and in the same breath endorse the corporate bookseller!

I would call your attention to The Works in Pacific Grove, which is carrying on the Thunderbird tradition and needs your support to flourish. Please amend your stand for big-box stores and give unconditional support to all independents. They are the heartbeat of our delightful local communities.

I think Steinbeck would be appalled if he knew Salinas had no independent bookseller! —Ann Sherman-Flint | Pacific Grove

GIVE KIDS LIBRARY CARDS

As a part-time online bookseller I came to a different conclusion in contrast to our elected and “insulted” Salinas officials regarding the dearth of chain bookstores in town [“Salinas Last Bookstores,” Jan. 25-31].

Besides the poverty and lack of education, the disturbing and depressing statistic in [Zachary] Stahl’s cover story that stood out most was the lack of interest in Salinas public libraries.

The great insult here in not that corporate book chains run from Salinas. It’s the inability of elected officials to “read” the evidence before them: Most Salinas K-12 children don’t patronize Borders (the name itself is suspicious), especially if their parents are poor and speak limited English as Stahl reported.

Here’s a way forward that even Steinbeck would applaud: Both Salinas school districts should partner with the city libraries. All students would be required to secure a public library card, and all students would be taught through graded class assignments how to use and appreciate their public library system.

Brick-and-mortar bookstores are disappearing everywhere. But in a democracy, we desperately need an educated citizenry. Dewey would applaud this suggestion as well. —Jim Safranek | Aromas

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CAN’T READ

As a natural born Salinas’n, it was disheartening to read about the death of books in Salinas, so closely preceded by the closing of the city libraries. And despite some well-intentioned efforts at those libraries, it’s still hard to find appropriate staffing and hours that are available.

While the article clearly spelled out the sadness and sorrows of it all, and tried to paint the bookstore chains as uncaring or uninterested, a simple look at the true demographics of Salinas may paint an even bleaker picture.

A report by Teluus/Diganos Center for Community Research in 2004, aptly titled The Status of Literacy in Monterey County, tells the story: 53 percent of all residents speak Spanish as a first language, with varying degrees of English proficiency. Your story noted that 37 percent are under 19. A little math please:

One hundred sixty thousand times 53 percent means approximately 75,000 speak English as a first language. With 37 percent who are 19 years old or younger, with a declining interest in reading, leaves us approximately 47,000 English readers.

Now, in the same research study, only 14 percent of Salinas has college degrees, or approximately 6,600 English-speaking people with college degrees.

That is why it doesn’t make sense to keep them open despite the cheerleading by the new mayor (we are a sophisticated town) Donovan (sic).

I know it is difficult to talk about language without talking about race, but it is pretty simple folks: You won’t have a Border’s without closing the borders. —Christopher “CB” Maxwell | Monterey

Note: The erroneous conclusion that there are only “6,600 English-speaking people with college degrees” in Salinas results from a faulty assumption: that 47 percent of the college graduates in the city do not speak English. That is obviously not true. And, of course, the mayor’s name is Donohue.