Today, June 14th is Flag Day. It is the perfect time to reflect on freedom, democracy and the great potential of the United States and the American people. My daughter's school does an amazing job of celebrating this national holiday. I saw it last year for the first time, and it struck me again as one of the most valuable events of the year. First of all, as the flag has changed so much over time, the story of the flag is the history of the United States -- and a fascinating history it is! It is common knowledge that there is a proper way to fold a flag. But, did you know that each fold has a meaning behind it? These twelve folds represent: life, eternal life, veterans, our weaker nature, our country, the Armed Forces, our hearts, people who have died, motherhood, fatherhood, Jews, and Christians. After the flag is folded, the stars remain on the top, representing our national motto -- In God We Trust.

Sometimes is does seem that this country is divided among political parties, racial, ethnic, or economic differences, etc., but after celebrating Flag Day, I think that it's the flag and what it symbolizes that unites us. We owe a debt of gratitude to those who came before us for "preserving for us the rights, privileges, and freedoms we enjoy today."

As librarians, we are sometimes called upon to think about things in an ethical and law abiding way. For instance, yesterday a woman came in to use the computer, but she also wanted to know if I could tell her if her husband had been on the computer the day before. She wanted to make sure he was telling the truth. First of all, he could have used the computers expressly for email, which you don't need to sign up for. We are "record keepers," but we are also advocates of privacy and upholding the rights of the people. Librarians are arguably the biggest patriots around!