Why am I fighting so hard to keep the Blasco Public Library public? 

My family lived through the horrors of fascism and the massacre of my grandmother's relatives including her sisters, her 5 year-old nephew and 7 year-old niece in 1943 by the Nazi soldiers who occupied their town in Italy.

In 1956 my sisters, dad and I were able to leave that war torn country to join our family in the U.S. We were very poor, but we had a grandfather who taught us the importance of books and the Carnegie Free Library. We never had books at home until he took us to the Oakland and Lawrenceville branches regularly on Saturdays, We did not speak any English, so the Library was not only a place with lots of books, but with my Grandfather's help we learned to read those books. He had been in this country for many years before we came, and he had learned the value of free libraries.    

It is alarming to me that our County Government made the decision without our input to practically give away space in the Blasco Library and that Gannon is ready to take it away from the people of Erie County.

"Free to the People", these words are etched above the entrance to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s main branch in Oakland. It’s a concept that was once considered radical, but has become an essential part of democracy in American communities.

“Free to the People,” means open access to everyone; but FREE DOES NOT MEAN free of responsibility to support our public assets such as the Blasco Library.
                                                                                                                                         In short, we need your support. We need your voice. We need your presence. We are not against Gannon's Project NePTWNE, but we are against it being located in the public library.
So please join me and other Erie County residents and Gannon Alumni who are working very hard to keep the Blasco Library public! Sign our petition and get others you know to sign at https://change.org/wronglocation