This quite touched me, I love libraries and when I traveled through the NA I often went in every big city to take some time from all the travel madness. The contrast between the libraries in Toronto and Seattle was quite stark. You could see the diffence between visitors, and there were a ton more homeless people in Seattle.

At the time i didn’t think much of it, but I was reflecting back on it after a awesome episode of 99% invisible (palaces of the people). The guest talked about how libraries changed and have a different function. And the importance of something he called social infrastructure as something that doesn’t get seen as important as let’s say, roads and electricity.

It’s Very related to what the author of the article is saying. We don’t nearly appreciate enough how libraries function in society. When we keep looking at as a buildings where you can get books and use the internet we totally miss the human side of it and if we don’t equip the people with the skills or experience to deal with it. They are going to be burned out.

Hopefully we can recognize the importance libraries have and support them in a way it benefits whole cities.