Notwithstanding that our civilisation is based on the fact that we learned to write down ideas to communicate with each other - it's what separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom.
So I was alarmed this week when it emerged that Tauranga Libraries could be losing out on 20,000 books a year.
Over the next 10 years, the council has proposed to keep the library's budget the same at $798,000, rather than keeping a level of service of 2.4 stock items per resident.
As the population of Tauranga grows, this means that in 10 years the number of books per resident could decrease to 1.96.
There is a ray of hope. As reported on page 6 today, Mayor Stuart Crosby says there is no doubt that the $798,000 will change once the council has completed its review of library services later this year, and it has not been the intention of councillors to leave the figure at $798,000 for 10 years and he is confident that the budget will go up.
I hope common sense prevails and that the proposal is not seen by our young people as a message that books no longer matter - you can get what you need on the internet. This is not true.
People seeking in-depth, accurate information have only one real choice - the library.
Our libraries should not be be left to languish. They are bastions for information. They are protectors, curators, caregivers, advocates, and any other adjective you could think of, for our histories.
And perhaps most importantly, they are facilitators for our imaginations.
