Chinatown needs a library branch

I WANT to express our desperate need for a neighborhood library in Chinatown (''Libraries, residents not on same page, study finds," Page A1, March 11).

Boston public schools' dismissal times leave a gap between school release and when most working parents get home. This is a big concern in the case of middle school students, who are too old for after-school programs but too young to be home alone. The library is a good place to do homework and a good place to stay away from trouble.

Nevertheless, our closest library is in Back Bay, too far for elementary and middle school students to walk without supervision.

Chinatown residents have been crying for a neighborhood library for years, since the last one was destroyed in the 1950s. I hope underserved neighborhoods will get more public attention as a result of your article.

SERENE WONG, Chinatown