More community center than temple of knowledge, the library has reinvented itself for a time when people no longer think of a book as a physical object—and literacy crosses so many platforms, it’s in danger of missing the train to Hogwarts.
Across this radical shift, though, language remains the point: It encodes knowledge, captures emotion, frees you to explore. The ultimate democratic institution, a library is still a place “where you learn,” as Alan Dershowitz put it, “what teachers were afraid to teach you.”
At Central, nobody’s trying to sell you something, judge you, fix you, or exploit you. A book will only be banned if its content is laced with hatred or cruelty. You can find words that resonate with your experience—yet were spoken five centuries ago. People who’ve been puzzling out the same questions millions of miles away. Answers to niggling everyday problems; ideas that pry open your mind; insights that soothe your soul. And all of it’s yours for the borrowing, shared on trust.
Read the full article @ St. Louis Mag
Photo: Kevin A. Roberts
The library is looking great!!!