The Modernist #43

A library is so much more than a building, and the whole is often much greater than the sum of its contents. Libraries are portals, places to unlock your imagination or to increase your understanding of the world we live in. They are places for relaxation and pleasure; places to inspire us.

They also offer sanctuary to those seeking a safe physical and intellectual space. It is no wonder that all right-minded humans value libraries; we should take them for granted at our peril. There is perhaps no greater cultural crime than the closing of a library.