Friday 26 April 2013

Re-discovering the public library

I subscribe to a number of lists that send me through all sorts of articles - more than I have time to read.  But as yesterday was ANZAC Day (& I'd been up very early to attend the dawn service) I had time to trawl through some of these articles.  And I'm really glad I did as I want to share this interesting article from the Chicago Tribune about a professor returning to use his public library. Its well worth a read.

Given that he is a scholar, of course the article starts with some historical context - which is great.  Here is the start of the article;

For 60 years, I looked down my nose at the public library, even though it's one of the key inventions and discoveries that lifted humans above lesser beings.

Taming fire freed us from shivering in the cold. Agriculture filled our bellies. And the public library liberated us from what Marx called "the idiocy of rural life" — an inability to imagine the world beyond the minuscule slice we inhabit.

Here's to a bright future for our public libraries, continuing to deliver on this promise, of liberating people's minds and supporting people's desire for knowledge and aspirations for success in whatever field they choose - whether it be self-discovery, picture framing or other pursuits.

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