Three weeks ago in this space, we asked for a community conversation on the future of our libraries. That conversation is under way, and continues.

A final, long-term solution to library funding has yet to emerge, but there is progress. Oregon's congressional delegation is working to get federal timber payments reauthorized, and Jackson County commissioners are considering potential funding sources if the federal money is not forthcoming.

Meanwhile, a vocal contingent of local residents — some of their voices reflected on these pages-- questions the need to have libraries at all, or to have libraries open to all, paid for by all taxpayers.

Silly us — we thought the value of publicly supported libraries was self-evident. Apparently not. So allow us to address the need for libraries, and why taxes should support a service not everyone uses.

First, let's discuss what libraries are.

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Libraries are repositories of knowledge, and have been for as long as humankind has known how to read and write. One of the great tragedies of antiquity was the destruction of the great library at Alexandria, Egypt, which was reputed to hold hundreds of thousands of volumes painstakingly handwritten on papyrus and parchment scrolls.

The circumstances of that destruction, the identity of those responsible and even the date of the disaster have been lost. But historians agree that the loss of the library was a huge setback for human progress.

During the Dark Ages, when anarchy and disease swept through Europe, monks quietly kept literacy and learning alive in their monasteries, copying and preserving priceless manuscripts for future generations.

Today, in this country, libraries open to all embody the American ideals of equality and equal opportunity. Not every American can be rich or powerful, but every American has the freedom to read, to learn and to strive to better his or her situation in life, with the help of the local public library.

In contrast, one of the defining characteristics of totalitarian societies is severe restriction of information, because the free exchange of information gives power to ordinary citizens, and totalitarian governments want to keep all the power for themselves.

We've heard two principal questions so far about continuing support for public libraries:

First, "Why do we need libraries when we have the Internet?" and second, "I don't use the library, so why should I help pay for it?"

The Internet is a wonderful thing — that's why our libraries include computers linked to it. But it has not made libraries obsolete, and it can't, for one simple reason: Money.

Say you are looking for a particular book. You may find its full text online, but chances are you won't; digitizing books is tremendously expensive and time-consuming, and putting the entire contents of libraries online is a long way from becoming reality.

If you do find it, chances are it won't be free. You'll be asked to pay to download it or even to read it online.

The Internet also is chock-full of information of questionable accuracy, much of it downright false. That's where the help of a highly trained researcher provided by your public library can be invaluable.

But wait, you say. I don't use the library. Why should I have to pay for it?

Many of us have never called the fire department, either, or summoned help from the police. Why should we pay to support those agencies? Perhaps we should meet the firefighters in the driveway with our credit cards at the ready when our house catches fire.

We pay for fire protection, of course, in case we ever do need it. And we pay for law enforcement so we can live in a safe community.

Libraries don't put out fires or arrest criminals. But they are just as important to a healthy community as firefighters and police officers.

We pay for public schools even though many of us have no children attending them, because public education, too, is part of a healthy society that prepares its children to become productive adults. Part of that preparation involves libraries. Yes, schools have libraries, but they don't have the budgets or the space to provide the comprehensive collections a public library offers.

Finally, don't overlook the potential effect on our local economy if the libraries shut down. If you were a corporate executive looking for a community for a new plant or office, would you want your employees living in a county without libraries? Would you feel confident that you could find qualified, well-educated workers in a town where children grew up without libraries?

Libraries are a mark of a civilized society, one that values literacy and learning and encourages those values in its children and in all its citizens.

Jackson County residents must decide if those values are still important.