Though many of us now inhabit an e-book/Google/Netflix/iPod/tablet world, for an incalculable number of people libraries provide not only books, movies, music and other entertainments they could otherwise not afford, but also places of sanctuary, peace and enlightenment. Public libraries exist for all, but primarily serve those who cannot afford to buy books or computers.
The Obama Library will be a palace focused on politics and personality, joining a large crowd of less dramatic and ballyhooed palaces that focus on people and possibilities.
From Chicago has plenty of libraries to enjoy even without the Obama library – Chicago Tribune
“but primarily…”
I can’t read the whole article, thanks to the Chicago Tribune’s all-too-typical “screw the non-subscribing reader” home page, but what might otherwise be a good piece is marred by this:
“Public libraries exist for all, but primarily serve those who cannot afford to buy books or computers.”
That may be true for a few libraries, and it’s true enough that public library services are especially essential for that group, but I’d guess that in many communities, maybe most, public libraries serve a lot more people who can afford books and computers. To say otherwise is to reduce the significance of public libraries for no especially good reason.