Letters from Asimov, Armstrong, Reagan, Seuss, to the children of Troy, Michigan and their new library in 1971.

Hart received 97 letters addressed to Troy’s young people from individuals who spanned the arts, sciences, and politics across the
50 states, Canada, the United Kingdom, India, the Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.

via troylibrary.info

Marguerite Hart, children's librarian of the Troy Public Library in Michigan, wrote letters to figures of note throughout the world, asking them to write a letter to congratulate the children of Troy with their new, enlarged library.

The letters are as much a serenade to libraries in an age where they're grossly undervalued as they are a glimpse into the social and more importantly cultural landscape of the early '70s.

I was particularly touched by Asimov's note, who remarked that a library "[...] is a space ship that will take you to the farthest reaches of the Universe, a time machine that will take you to the far past and the far future, a teacher that knows more than any human being, a friend that will amuse you and console you---and most of all, a gateway, to a better and happier and more useful life."

http://troylibrary.info/letterstothechildrenoftroy