John Steinbeck

On December 14, 2004, the City Council of Salinas, California, facing record budget deficits, voted to close all three libraries in the city, which is perhaps most famous as the birthplace of John Steinbeck (1902-1968). The author, whose works include Cannery Row and Of Mice and Men, immortalized the Salinas area in his 1952 novel, East of Eden. One of the libraries slated for closure is named for Steinbeck.

Salinas, often called “the nation’s salad bowl” because of the broccoli and lettuce fields surrounding the area, is home to a large population of farmworkers and immigrants, many of them poor. As a consequence, says the Fresno Bee, “the city’s libraries are popular destinations for people seeking citizenship primers, literacy courses, English-as-a-second language tapes, Internet access and after-school programs. Roughly 1,900 people visit on an average day.”

The idea of losing a public library system that includes a branch honoring one of America’s most famous authors was painful not only for local residents but for many across the nation, as well. The story was reported in newspapers ranging from The New York Times to the San Antonio, Texas Express-News. But in February 2005, with just two months to go before the libraries were to be shut, Salinas Mayor Anna Caballero announced plans for a fund-raising campaign to save library service in the city. An anonymous rancher has donated $25,000, with a promise to contribute $75,000 more if Salinas residents themselves donate that much, and several large corporations—including the publishing house McGraw-Hill—expressed an interest in contributing to the campaign.

In Steinbeck’s masterpiece, The Grapes of Wrath, he wrote these words about injustice. “There is a sorrow here that weeping cannot symbolize.” There still seem to be enough Americans who feel that way about closing the doors of a public library that hope remains for Steinbeck’s namesake and the other branches in his home town.