Worth a read

The Guardian's Rebecca Front takes the time to put into words what I always consider to be unstated assumptions about the value of libraries:

I find it hard to understand how anyone can fail to see that libraries are a great institution which deserves to be cherished. If someone said to you, "I know this place where you can go and hang around for as long as you like, browsing books, newspapers and magazines, using the internet, keeping out of the rain. And if you see a book you fancy, you can take it home - free. Take a few, why don't you, and some CDs and DVDs while you're at it. And then, when you've finished reading, and you're fed up with them sitting around cluttering your shelves and gathering dust ... you can take them back and swap them for something else"... you'd think that was pretty amazing, wouldn't you?

And yet, when you ask people how often they visit a library - if indeed they belong to one - you discover that they regard it in much the same way as having a composting bin in the garden. It's a great idea, you can't fault it and, sooner or later, we might get round to trying it. So it's no surprise that councils across the country are cutting back their funding, presumably working on the assumption that, famed as they are for their quietness, library users won't make too much noise about it.

Front notes the lack of funding facing many UK libraries...and it's not hard to draw a connection between that reality and the similar problems facing those at home. And while the challenges here have only confirmed that there's no lack of people devoted to making sure that the wonder of free access to information is maintained to the greatest degree possible, it never hurts to remind oneself just how important a concept is being defended.