Public Discourse and Libraries

Two people, with distinguished lifetime careers in the world of public Libraries in Pennsylvania, have had a profound effect on the way I think about Libraries. It is not so important to say who they are or were, and how they have contributed in their professional roles, but rather what they said to me that so profoundly influenced my thinking about the importance of Libraries to the public discourse. The first person spoke about intellectually isolated populations and broadened my view considerably about who fits into the meaning of such a term as “intellectually isolated.” I began with a clear understanding that inner city populations often feel so isolated, that residents may suffer from a prejudiced and otherworldly characterization of their lives, and that they may be ill prepared …