In 1895, the New Hampshire State Library was unveiled, one of four great structures planned to surround the State Capitol as a part of the “City Beautiful” idea that was remaking many American cities at the time.

Much was made during the 1895 opening of the New Hampshire State Library of the use of raw materials native to New Hampshire in the building’s construction. Following the dedication, gifts to the new state library poured in from other state libraries, and from state governments around the country. The University of New Hampshire donated federal government documents to the state library during World War II, and the state library’s holdings of early maps donated by many states are substantial.

Today, the state library and the New Hampshire Historical Society complement the north side of the State Capitol. One of the major structures planned for the south side has been demolished and replaced by a parking lot, while the other 1895 building planned for the south side has been “repurposed.”

A part of the state library building was removed by a popular governor, whose 1960s view from his office was disturbed by the inclusion of a tower on one of the library’s corners. An open lawn planned for the north side of the library, a part of the 1895 site plan, has been for many decades a paved parking lot.

And now we have members of the Executive Council complaining about children’s books? Shades of “Tom Sawyer” and “Huckleberry Finn.” Television daily shows our children, and We The People, more than we ever thought we needed to know about the human body. Instead of book-banning, why not think of finding the funds to support collections and staff at the New Hampshire State Library?

Why not think of visiting one of New Hampshire’s great architectural and cultural treasures? Why not appreciate the grand vision of 19th century legislators who saw the need for a New Hampshire State Library, and who acted to ensure it became a reality?

Russell Bastedo of Dublin was the New Hampshire state curator from 1997 to 2009.