It looks like Big Fish will have a new home after all.

Big Fish, who currently reaches about 14 inches, resides in a 150-gallon tank in the Selma Public Library’s children’s department.

He’s not the only one, though. Big Fish and seven cohorts share a tank that’s pushing nine years. The tank’s sump, a filtration device, is beginning to leak. According to Becky Nichols, library director, a new home is needed.

It now appears that home will become a reality. Council members Jean Martin and Nancy Sewell are scheduled to donate discretionary funds to a new aquarium so Big Fish and his friends can continue to delight and teach children of all ages.

And that’s what is really important about the city’s library getting a new fish tank.

The library’s aquarium isn’t merely a curio or conversation piece. It’s a tool for learning &045; and it works.

Walk up to the children’s department on any day and the hand and nose prints of children can be seen marking the aquarium’s glass. The fish aren’t natives of Alabama, but instead hail from the South Pacific. The aquarium is host to coral and a multitude of rocks as well as the fish.

The aquarium intrigues, builds curiosity and draws children to books to learn more about the colorful creatures living behind glass.

And we hope a newer, larger tank will draw not only the children of today, but also those of tomorrow.

In an age where television and the Internet are often the first choices for children to find entertainment, we are proud to point to Selma’s library as a home for not only entertainment, but also knowledge.

Nichols said the need for a new tank was similar to the library’s need for more space. Both need the room to grow and develop to their full potential.

The aquarium will get the chance to grow and teach children for many years to come. We know the library will do the same thing.