

I myself spent hours in the Columbia library as intimidated and embarrassed as a famished gourmet invited to a dream restaurant where every dish from all the world's cuisines, past and present, was available on request. When I read constantly about the way in which library funds are being cut and cut, I can only think that the door is closing and that American society has found one more way to destroy itself. It is a space ship that will take you to the farthest reaches of the Universe, a time machine that will take you to the far past and the far future, a teacher that knows more than any human being, a friend that will amuse you and console you-and most of all, a gateway, to a better and happier and more useful life. The library became the cathedral where I would come to worship and the stories were as precious to me as prayers.

They are like understanding friends-always ready to meet your mood, always ready to change the subject when you have had enough of this or that. Joanne There are times when I think that the ideal library is composed solely of reference books. Ĭharacter Library-denigrators, pay heed: suggesting that the Internet is a viable substitute for libraries is like saying porn could replace your wife. īooks the world A family library is a breeding-place for character. The world is a library of strange and wonderful books, and sometimes we just need to go prowling through the stacks. Garden A library, to modify the famous metaphor of Socrates, should be the delivery room for the birth of ideas-a place where history comes to life. īooks If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need. Lady Bird Johnson A man's library is a sort of harem. The only entrance requirement is interest.

īooks Perhaps no place in any community is so totally democratic as the town library. Learning reading Without libraries what have we? We have no past and no future. The library is the temple of learning, and learning has liberated more people than all the wars in history.

Most popular libraries quotes A library is not a luxury, but one of the necessaries of life.
