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Public Library Quotes

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Public Library Quotes

“I would walk into the Carnegie Library and I would see the pictures of Booker T. and pictures of Frederick Douglass and I would read. I would go into the Savannah Public Libraries in the stacks and see all of the newspapers from all over the country. Did I dream that I would be on the Supreme Court? No. But I dreamt that there was a world out there that was worth pursuing.”

WorldCountryDreamWould BeWalksCourtLibraryNewspapersSupremeSupreme CourtPublic LibraryCarnegieSavannah
Author:Clarence Thomas
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“One function of the librarian, as he saw it, was to blunt the edge of these differences and to provide a means whereby the rich and poor could live happily side by side. The public library was a great leveler, supplying a literature by which the ordinary man could experience some of the pleasures of the rich, and providing a common ground where employer and employee could meet on equal terms.”

MenMeanLiteratureSidesTermDifferencesPleasurePoorCommonDemocracyRichSawsEqualOrdinaryFunctionLibraryEdgesEmployeeProvidingEmployersLibrarianRich And PoorBluntCommon GroundOrdinary ManPublic Library
Author:Lewis Henry Steiner
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“At the 1894 ALA conference it was fairly well agreed that the primary goal of the public library must be to teach good citizenship. Libraries recognized that such "Americanization" could be achieved through literacy. Thus, teaching immigrants to read was not just a benefit in and of itself; literacy would also serve the interests of democracy.”

WellsGoalInterestTeachDemocracyTeachingBenefitsLibraryPrimariesImmigrantsCitizenshipLiteracyConferencesPublic LibraryGood CitizenGood Citizenship
Author:Kevin Mattson
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“One of my greatest sources of pride as president of the New York Public Library is the continuance of the library's open, free, and democratic posture, the fact that we are here for Everyman, that we are indeed Everyman's university, the place where the scholar who is not college-affiliated can come and work and feel at home.”

FeelsFactsHomePresidentDemocracyNew YorkCollegeSourcePrideDemocraticLibraryUniversityScholarPosturePublic LibraryContinuanceEveryman
Author:Vartan Gregorian
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“Fact is Our Lord knew all about the power of money: He gave capitalism a tiny niche in His scheme of things, He gave it a chance, He even provided a first installment of funds. Can you beat that? It's so magnificent. God despises nothing. After all, if the deal had come off, Judas would probably have endowed sanatoriums, hospitals, public libraries or laboratories.”

IfsFirstsFactsChanceDealsLordBeatsCapitalismLibraryTinyFundHospitalsDespiseSchemesMagnificentOur LordLaboratoryNichePublic LibraryJudas
Book:The Diary of a Country Priest
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“I cannot sufficiently celebrate the glorious liberty that reigns in the public libraries of the twentieth century as compared with the intolerable management of those of the nineteenth century, in which the books were jealously railed away from the people, and obtainable only at an expenditure of time and red tape calculated to discourage any ordinary taste for literature.”

PeopleBookLiteratureLibertyCenturyTasteOrdinaryRedManagementLibraryCelebrateGloriousTapeReignTwentieth CenturyDiscouragingNineteenth CenturyExpendituresPublic LibraryRed TapeJealously
Book:Looking Backward: From 2000 to 1887
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“Community. A friend started a real estate brokerage a few years ago. By the time she'd added her second employee, she was a pillar of her 35,000-person community. No rule says that only the local banker or car dealer can organize the program to raise supplemental funds for the public library or send the high school band on a well-earned special trip. Participating in community affairs, with time more than dollars, is good business from day one. It gets your name around, adds to your distinctiveness, and, best of all, makes you an attractive employer (which is the key to sustained success).”

YearsWellsPersonsRealSchoolNamesCommunityBusinessSpecialCarKeysBandHigh SchoolYears AgoProgramRaisesDollarsAddLibraryAffairLocalsAttractiveEmployeeFundEstatesOrganizeEmployersBankersPillarsDealerParticipatingPublic LibraryGood BusinessSchool BandCar DealerSustained Success
Book:The Pursuit of Wow!: Every Person's Guide to Topsy-Turvy Times
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“Few things would gratify me as much as a rediscovered respect for things belonging to others. Not abusing the property of others (or that of the community) is one of the ways in which we respect others. It is an essential part of being considerate guests, no matter where we are: in an airplane, in a friend's home, in a movie theater, in a doctor's office, in a public library, or in a public square.”

WayMatterHomeCommunityEssentialsOfficeDoctorsTheaterPropertyLibraryBelongingSquaresGuestsAirplaneRespecting OthersPublic LibraryConsiderateMovie TheaterBe Considerate
Author:P. M. Forni
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“The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, with the best teachers, drawn from the entire planet and from all our history, to instruct us without tiring, and to inspire us to make our own contribution to the collective knowledge of the human species.”

MindHumansTeacherInspirePlanetsSpeciesLibraryInsightContributionCosmosCollectivesTireLibrarianBest TeacherHuman SpeciesPublic LibraryLibraries And LibrariansCollective Knowledge
Book:Cosmos
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“We English majors...need to promote public libraries as a tool in the war against terror. How many readers of Edith Wharton have engaged in terroristic acts? I challenge you to name one...Do we need to wait until our cities lie in smoking ruins before we wake up to the fact that a first-class public library is a vital link in national defense?”

NeedsFirstsBookWarFactsLyingNamesWaitingChallengesCitiesClassReaderMajorsToolsWake UpLibraryTerrorDefenseRuinsEngagedSmokingLinksFirst ClassPublic LibraryNational DefenseEnglish Major
Author:Garrison Keillor
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“While on the subject of burning books, I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physical strength, who, all over this country, have staunchly resisted anti-democratic bullies who have tried to remove certain books from their shelves, and destroyed records rather than have to reveal to thought police the names of persons who have checked out those titles. So the America I loved still exists, if not in the White House, the Supreme Court, the Senate, the House of Representatives, or the media. The America I loved still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.”

IfsWantPersonsStillsBookCountryAmericaCertainHouseNamesWhiteRecordsSubjectsMediaFrontsPoliceCourtDemocraticLibrarySupremeDestroyedBurningTitlesRemoveWhite HouseSenateRepresentativesDesksShelvesSupreme CourtBullyLibrarianPublic LibraryHouse Of RepresentativesPhysical StrengthThought PoliceFront Desk
Author:Kurt Vonnegut
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“Where I grew up, we had the three TV networks, maybe two radio stations, no cable TV. We still had a long-distance party line in our neighborhood, so you could listen to all your neighbors' phone calls. We had a very small public library, and the nearest bookstore was an hour away.”

LongStillsTwoThreeHoursLinesPartyTvsGrewGrew UpDistanceLibraryPhonesRadioNeighborNeighborhoodStationsCablesPhone CallsBookstoresLong DistancePublic LibraryRadio StationsCable Tv
Author:Marc Andreessen
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