Letter: Math, science books at Sprague are embarrassing

The Salt Lake City library system's Sprague Branch has science and mathematics sections that are embarrassing; the lowest quality books for kids looking like they were purchased from Deseret Industries.

One single textbook on calculus and several beat-up Schaum's Outline books is as much real mathematics as you'll find. The science collection is pretty much the same — some eye-candy astronomy books, cut-rate children's books, a biography of Einstein (?) and one or two thought-provoking books about the "big questions."

However, there are many, many books on occult subjects, and shelves of novels by authors no one remembers nor really should. When I asked about policy I was told that the library spends its budget on popular, high-turnover books.

What is the purpose of a library? To add books to it collection that won't be read after a year or two or to provide the community with a learning resource? I'd say that latter, but that's not the policy.

To a world increasingly dependent on science and math, this is doing our young people a great disservice.

Harold Katcher

Salt Lake City