At CCSA we do not delve into politics often, especially American politics, but when the Missouri Republican Party made the deliberate decision to defund its libraries (apparently out of spite, in retaliation against the librarians who were fighting back against book banning), we are now forced to say something.
The fact is many of our members join our society because they were interested in recovering their past; and libraries are often the first stop in their journey, with libraries providing access to countless local genealogy databases, local regional records, and local historical newspapers.
Missouri’s decision may appear to be a local affair, but many people living today are direct descendants of those who either once lived there, or perhaps even just travelled through Missouri on business.
When libraries close their door, books either are be destroyed, or they sold, or in the ideal world transported for storage. The problem is accidents can happen. The Scottish nation lost countless early land records when The Queen of Burntisland sank in a storm in 1661 – records that could have helped us understand the history of our clan.
Education, and knowledge is the cornerstone of every great civilisation. Libraries cannot be closed when the only reason is one political party decide they do not agree with what is being said.
I, for one, have seen the effects from both the accidental and the deliberate destruction (and obstruction) of knowledge and I have seen them far too many times to sit quietly on the sidelines. Especially when these decisions directly affects our members, and it will affect our descendants. If you are against these closures please let us know.
Derek Cunningham
High Commissioner, Clan Cunningham Global & CCSA
