--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All across America public libraries were…" description: "\"“All across America public libraries were, and are, being shut down, while prisons-with libraries-were, and are, being built. This has been a choice th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aaa/avi-steinberg-31617_libraries_all-across-america-public-libraries-were_1571526.jpg" --- # All across America public libraries were, and are, being… ![“All across America public libraries were, and are, being shut down, while prisons-with libraries-were, and are, being built. This has been a choice the American public has been making for over thirty years.” quote by Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aaa/avi-steinberg-31617_libraries_all-across-america-public-libraries-were_1571526.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aaa/avi-steinberg-31617_libraries_all-across-america-public-libraries-were_1571526.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aaa/avi-steinberg-31617_libraries_all-across-america-public-libraries-were_1571526.jpg) > ““All across America public libraries were, and are, being shut down, while prisons-with libraries-were, and are, being built. This has been a choice the American public has been making for over thirty years.”” [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Public libraries are being closed while prison libraries expand, reflecting a societal choice to prioritize incarceration over education. **In simple terms:** Society favors prisons over libraries. Key Takeaway Advocate for library funding. Themes education justice public policy access to knowledge social priorities Mood concerned critical hopeful Type political social commentary When to use this quote - community meetings - policy debates - advocacy campaigns - grant writing - library board meetings Key Concepts public policy social inequality resource allocation Questions to Reflect On - What values are we sacrificing by closing libraries? - How can we shift public policy to protect libraries? A Different Perspective Closing libraries may reduce community literacy and civic engagement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Libraries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libraries/) [Prisons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prisons/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [From lying about climate change, to undermining programs that make up our social safety net, to opposing laws that reduce gun violence, to fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/from-lying-about-climate-change-to-undermining-programs-that-make-up/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [In America, public opinion is the leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-perkins/in-america-public-opinion-is-the-leader/) [Frances Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-perkins/) > [America's public schools have served their purpose. Free and compulsory education was good for a somewhat unpromising young nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/america-s-public-schools-have-served-their-purpose-free-and/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Richard John Neuhaus, in his well-known book The Naked Public Square, tells us that in America, the public square has become openly hostile to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-l-carter/richard-john-neuhaus-in-his-well-known-book-the-naked-public-square/) [Stephen L. Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-l-carter/) > [I believe in an America ... where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/i-believe-in-an-america-where-no-public-official-either-requests-or/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [As a big user of public libraries, I deplore the cutbacks they have had to sustain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-abramson/as-a-big-user-of-public-libraries-i-deplore-the-cutbacks-they-have/) [Jill Abramson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-abramson/) > [Public libraries have been a mainstay of my life. They represent an individual's right to acquire knowledge; they are the sinews that bind civilized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-michener/public-libraries-have-been-a-mainstay-of-my-life-they-represent-an/) [James A. Michener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-michener/) > [ “\[Public\] libraries should be open to all—except the censor. \[Response to questionnaire in Saturday Review, October 29 1960\] ” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/public-libraries-should-be-open-to-all-except-the-censor-response-to/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“Libraries have ludicrously large “limits” on items you can check out (the Denver Public Libraries, for instance, let you check out 100 books at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/libraries-have-ludicrously-large-limits-on-items-you-can-check-out/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There were two free public libraries within walking distance of my home; I remember taking six books home from every visit, the limit set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-lewis-perl/there-were-two-free-public-libraries-within-walking-distance-of-my/) [Martin Lewis Perl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-lewis-perl/) > [The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-america-i-love-still-exists-at-the-front-desks-of-our-public/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Public libraries are our great teachers and storytellers, and are a vital adjunct to our schools. In this day of standardized and homogenized education,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-andrews/public-libraries-are-our-great-teachers-and-storytellers-and-are-a/) [Julie Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-andrews/) > [What is also strange to me is that public libraries have always been in the forefront of opposing censorship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lesko/what-is-also-strange-to-me-is-that-public-libraries-have-always-been/) [Matthew Lesko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lesko/) > [“My experience with public libraries is that the first volume of the book I inquire for is out, unless I happen to want the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/my-experience-with-public-libraries-is-that-the-first-volume-of-the/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/) > [“Or you can use a computer for free in most public libraries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elinor-lebaron/or-you-can-use-a-computer-for-free-in-most-public-libraries/) [Elinor LeBaron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elinor-lebaron/) ## More by Avi Steinberg > [“Fuck it, I thought. As Don Rumsfeld once said, "You go to war with the army you have, not the army you wish you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/fuck-it-i-thought-as-don-rumsfeld-once-said-you-go-to-war-with-the/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“For days I kept imagining the fate of the world's misplaced letters. I started noticing them everywhere. All the right letters sitting on desks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/for-days-i-kept-imagining-the-fate-of-the-world-s-misplaced-letters-i/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“I think you’re more an archivist than a librarian,” he said. He told me that archivists and librarians were opposite personas. True librarians are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/i-think-you-re-more-an-archivist-than-a-librarian-he-said-he-told-me/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“I flipped to the author’s photo in the Library of America edition of O’Connor’s collected works, and forked it over. Solitary examined the photo.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/i-flipped-to-the-author-s-photo-in-the-library-of-america-edition-of/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“Yet for quixotic reasons--namely, that I enjoyed writing obits--I had decided to scale back on articles about city life in order to write exclusively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/yet-for-quixotic-reasons-namely-that-i-enjoyed-writing-obits-i-had/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“I don't need no Smith and Wesson, man, I got Merriam and Webster.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/i-don-t-need-no-smith-and-wesson-man-i-got-merriam-and-webster/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“An officer on an elevator in the Tower once told me he was proud of his job keeping bad guys out of society. "Someone's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/an-officer-on-an-elevator-in-the-tower-once-told-me-he-was-proud-of/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“Pimps make the best librarians. Psycho killers, the worst. Ditto con men. Gangsters, gunrunners, bank robbers- adept at crowd control, at collaborating with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/pimps-make-the-best-librarians-psycho-killers-the-worst-ditto-con-men/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“Pimps make the best librarians.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/pimps-make-the-best-librarians/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“He told me that archivists and librarians were opposite personas. True librarians are unsentimental. They're pragmatic, concerned with the newest, cleanest, most popular books.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/he-told-me-that-archivists-and-librarians-were-opposite-personas-true/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“Harvard was a lovely assisted-living facility from which I'd emerged, like my classmates, stupider and more confident.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/harvard-was-a-lovely-assisted-living-facility-from-which-i-d-emerged/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“His elegant librarianship ... made me appreciate how order is created: Not through grand schemes - to which I was often drawn - but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/his-elegant-librarianship-made-me-appreciate-how-order-is-created-not/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“Unresolved shit, man, resolves itself eventually." --Chudney Franklin”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/unresolved-shit-man-resolves-itself-eventually-chudney-franklin/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“The space itself - its piles of papers representing decades of tangled history - reminded me of all that I didn't know and couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/the-space-itself-its-piles-of-papers-representing-decades-of-tangled/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“Pimps make the best librarians. Psycho killers, the worst. Ditto conmen. Gangsters, gun runners, bank robbers – adept at crowd control, at collaborating with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/pimps-make-the-best-librarians-psycho-killers-the-worst-ditto-conmen/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) [Explore all 16 Avi Steinberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) ## More Libraries quotes > [“She might ban me from the library." "The marvelous thing about libraries is that their contents can be easily moved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alissa-johnson/she-might-ban-me-from-the-library-the-marvelous-thing-about-libraries/) [Alissa Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alissa-johnson/) > [If truth is beauty, how come no one has their hair done in a library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/if-truth-is-beauty-how-come-no-one-has-their-hair-done-in-a-library/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [Schools have never been about getting access to information. That's the job of libraries. Schools and universities have nobler missions as gentle gatekeepers. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-nikiforuk/schools-have-never-been-about-getting-access-to-information-that-s/) Andrew Nikiforuk > [“Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-permit-us-to-voyage-through-time-to-tap-the-wisdom-of-our/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Don't join the book burners. Don't think you're going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don't be afraid to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/don-t-join-the-book-burners-don-t-think-you-re-going-to-conceal/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [Libraries hold the wisdom of the world and the stories of the ages - available to everyone, free of charge!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-sue-park/libraries-hold-the-wisdom-of-the-world-and-the-stories-of-the-ages/) [Linda Sue Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-sue-park/) > [Libraries are where we learn that we can live our lives through books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-barry/libraries-are-where-we-learn-that-we-can-live-our-lives-through-books/) [Kevin Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-barry/) > [“The library was quiet. It was busy but it was quiet and I thought it must be like this in a monastery where you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/the-library-was-quiet-it-was-busy-but-it-was-quiet-and-i-thought-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“The bookworm of great libraries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-bookworm-of-great-libraries/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Libraries are where it all begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/libraries-are-where-it-all-begins/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture, and our concern for the future,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-think-the-health-of-our-civilization-the-depth-of-our-awareness/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [There is a sad disconnectedness that overcomes a library when its owner is gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/there-is-a-sad-disconnectedness-that-overcomes-a-library-when-its/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [Prior to the Civil War, most libraries were either privately owned or housed in universities or churches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/prior-to-the-civil-war-most-libraries-were-either-privately-owned-or/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [“The most important thing of all was not the poverty of its essence, but that it was there .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-drake/the-most-important-thing-of-all-was-not-the-poverty-of-its-essence/) [David Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-drake/) > [Libraries shelter the spirit, provide food for the mind, and answer the questions raised by the problems of life. They have been the home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberta-gellis/libraries-shelter-the-spirit-provide-food-for-the-mind-and-answer-the/) Roberta Gellis [Browse all 469 Libraries quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libraries/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“All across America public libraries were, and are, being shut down, while prisons-with libraries-were, and are, being built. 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