2011-05-16
post/5550582234
quote 20:12:00
“ To keep their doors open, the Cleveland public library sponsored “overdue weeks”, encouraging patrons who could afford it to keep their library books until they were overdue, allowing the library to collect the 12 cents per week fine. In a time of soup lines and economic destitution, the library was known as the “bread line of the spirit”. ”
All Hail the PUBLIC Library at On the Commons.
On Saturday I went to a talk at Noe Valley’s library - one of twenty-eight branches in the city, not counting their mobile library service - about public libraries, by Robert Dawson, who’s been photographing them for nearly two decades.
Unfortunately, one of the anecdotes he used - that no American libraries closed during the Depression - turns out not the be true. However, this quote shows how valuable libraries were - and were perceived to be.
I also didn’t realise that public - as opposed to university or subscription - libraries were invented in the US. Definitely a worthwhile talk, and the photographic exhibition is still on at the main branch of the SFPL.
