August writes in his work “Charles Recht in the New York Times in 1908 similarly linked the utility of the New York Public Libraries to the moral power of habitat”.
He notes that the “mission of reading rooms” were indeed,burrowing Charles Recht’s words, “to be the study room of ambitious poor men who’s homes in the crowded tenements are filthy, noisy, and dark. Here, after the day’s hard work, could come the eager workingman and find the books he needs and desire and learn to live instead of merely existing”
Though to say library save these men’s life and gave them hope when they had nothing might be an overstatement(maybe not for some),I was still amazed by how a simple installment of libraries may have actually given some men “hope” and a purpose to live. Perhaps libraries did not give these men a purpose to live but at least something to look forward to, something that made them feel limitless and free.
Maybe I am reading too much into this brief example of how in 1908 there was this sense of poor men finding hope or some medium in which he or she may have felt free(from poverty, from condescension etc).
This simple transformation of library from just a place that stores information/books to something more spiritual/ deeply personal shows the attraction of learning. Quenching the thirst for knowledge/ having curiosity at heart should not be undervalued. As library become more public and social like we read, it becomes popular, shared by people. This ubiquitous thing(Libraries), may offer guidance and a place to indulge in passionate learning. In that sense, library could be a church where all books are supposedly bibles(not that we adhere them completely but that we value knowledge/facts/opinions or purely just books) and we ourselves stay faithful to our own curiosity.
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