To say actor LeVar Burton likes libraries would be an understatement. And it’s not just because he was the host of “Reading Rainbow” for 26 years.
“I love libraries. I think libraries are really underutilized national resources,” Burton told “St. Louis on the Air” producer Katie Cook on Tuesday. “Libraries ensure that all citizens in this country have access to the knowledge, the information. Libraries are sanctuaries. They’re like churches for me.”
“I believe everybody has a story, and everybody has a powerful story,” he said. “Storytelling, at least for me, is pretty much one of the most powerful modalities of communication that we possess as human beings. Every culture in every country has a tradition of storytelling.”
Burton is still using those storytelling skills to with “Reading Rainbow.” The PBS television show that encouraged kids to read was canceled in 2009. Since then, Burton and Mark Wolfe worked to secure the rights to “Reading Rainbow.” Last year they launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring the series back for the digital age.
“We have to get to kids at the right time in their lives, when they’re deciding whether or not they’re going to be a reader,” Burton said.
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