On Tuesday morning the office was buzzing with cheerful laughter as everyone traded news of their holidays and New Year’s. So it was jarring to sit down at my desk and find a sobering story in the morning’s Washington Post on the state of local public libraries in our neighboring Maryland and Virginia.

Staff writer Lisa Rein reported that, much like Borders and other major book retailers, local librarians are finding themselves faced with more pressure than ever before to weed out classic literature titles in order to make space on their shelves for more contemporary ones in higher demand.

On the so-called “endangered book” list are perennial favorites ranging from Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls to Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird — neither of which have been checked out of the Fairfax County Library in over two years.

While bleak, the story was an important reminder of why our work at First Book to lower barriers to book ownership is so important.