--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A library in the middle of a community is…" description: "\"A library in the middle of a community is a cross between an emergency exit, a life-raft and a festival. They are cathedrals of the mind; hospitals of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/453/caitlin-moran-865_cathedrals_a-library-in-the-middle-of-a-community-i_2369380.png" --- # A library in the middle of a community is a cross between… ![“A library in the middle of a community is a cross between an emergency exit, a life-raft and a festival. They are cathedrals of the mind; hospitals of the soul; theme parks of the imagination. On a cold rainy island, they are the only sheltered public spaces where you are not a consumer, but a…” quote by Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/453/caitlin-moran-865_cathedrals_a-library-in-the-middle-of-a-community-i_2369380.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/453/caitlin-moran-865_cathedrals_a-library-in-the-middle-of-a-community-i_2369380.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/453/caitlin-moran-865_cathedrals_a-library-in-the-middle-of-a-community-i_2369380.png) > “A library in the middle of a community is a cross between an emergency exit, a life-raft and a festival. They are cathedrals of the mind; hospitals of the soul; theme parks of the imagination. On a cold rainy island, they are the only sheltered public spaces where you are not a consumer, but a citizen instead” [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Libraries serve as essential communal sanctuaries, offering safety, knowledge, and imagination beyond consumerism. **In simple terms:** Libraries are safe, creative public spaces for citizens. Key Takeaway Support and protect local libraries as community lifelines. Themes community knowledge sanctuary Mood hopeful reflective Type social educational When to use this quote - visiting libraries - hosting community events - advocating for library funding Key Concepts social capital public good Questions to Reflect On - What would a community lose without libraries? - How can libraries stay relevant? A Different Perspective Funding cuts threaten their role. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cathedrals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cathedrals/) [Citizens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizens/) [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Consumers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumers/) [Crosses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crosses/) [Emergencies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emergencies/) [Exit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exit/) [Festivals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/festivals/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Imagination Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination-cold-4451256/) [Island Sheltered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/island-sheltered-5830787/) [Islands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islands/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Middle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parks/) [Public Spaces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-spaces-287007/) [Rainy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rainy/) [Rainy Island](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rainy-island-5830788/) [Sheltered Public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sheltered-public-1985435/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Theme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theme/) [Theme park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theme-park/) [Theme parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theme-parks/) [Where you are](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/where-you-are/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Fiction lags after truth, invention is unfruitful, and imagination cold and barren.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/fiction-lags-after-truth-invention-is-unfruitful-and-imagination-cold/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I am concerned that my children will grow up sheltered from the public. I am concerned that the children get to experience childhood and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mette-marit-crown-princess-of-norway/i-am-concerned-that-my-children-will-grow-up-sheltered-from-the/) [Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mette-marit-crown-princess-of-norway/) > [A library in the middle of a community is a cross between an emergency exit, a life raft and a festival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/a-library-in-the-middle-of-a-community-is-a-cross-between-an-2/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [I'm not too much of a visual guy. I'd rather sit at home than be seen at public spaces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kk/i-m-not-too-much-of-a-visual-guy-i-d-rather-sit-at-home-than-be-seen/) [KK](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kk/) > [“That public spaces are not really public for you, but a series of surprise private moments that you can’t prevent or erase. And so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/that-public-spaces-are-not-really-public-for-you-but-a-series-of/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [Our public spaces should be places that are inclusive, that bring people together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jagmeet-singh/our-public-spaces-should-be-places-that-are-inclusive-that-bring/) [Jagmeet Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jagmeet-singh/) > [I think in the media we tend to deify people in these public spaces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-galitzine/i-think-in-the-media-we-tend-to-deify-people-in-these-public-spaces/) [Nicholas Galitzine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-galitzine/) > [If you go into any department store these days, your picture is probably taken 30 times. In London there are 500,000 cameras in public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-kelly/if-you-go-into-any-department-store-these-days-your-picture-is/) [Raymond Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-kelly/) > [In a Society becoming steadily more privatized with private homes, cars, computers, offices and shopping centers, the public component of our lives is disappearing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-gehl/in-a-society-becoming-steadily-more-privatized-with-private-homes/) [Jan Gehl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-gehl/) > [In those inherently public spaces, I try to distance myself from myself. I want to be at least two steps to the left of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-d-arcy/in-those-inherently-public-spaces-i-try-to-distance-myself-from/) [Emma D'Arcy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-d-arcy/) > [If you look at the entrance halls of the skyscrapers of the 1920s and 1930s, they are very welcoming. They are public spaces with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-rykwert/if-you-look-at-the-entrance-halls-of-the-skyscrapers-of-the-1920s-and/) [Joseph Rykwert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-rykwert/) > [ I think anything that gets people outside \[is good\] - I'm a big supporter of public parks and public spaces. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/i-think-anything-that-gets-people-outside-is-good-i-m-a-big-supporter/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [“Our public spaces are as profound as we allow them to be. They are our shared spaces and reflect what matters to us as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candy-chang/our-public-spaces-are-as-profound-as-we-allow-them-to-be-they-are-our/) [Candy Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candy-chang/) > [It's not about doing over the living room of someone who has bad taste in color. This is about restoring historic buildings and instilling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genevieve-gorder/it-s-not-about-doing-over-the-living-room-of-someone-who-has-bad/) [Genevieve Gorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genevieve-gorder/) > [What's interesting about art in public spaces is that the public really sort of takes over and uses it in ways that you didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresita-fernandez/what-s-interesting-about-art-in-public-spaces-is-that-the-public/) [Teresita Fernandez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresita-fernandez/) ## More by Caitlin Moran > [“Bármilyen idiótának, aki azt kérdezi: „Feminista vagy? Akkor elégeted a melltartóidat, mi? HE? Melltartókat égetsz, te feminista?” – szép nyugodtan így kell válaszolni: „Ostoba.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/b-rmilyen-idi-t-nak-aki-azt-k-rdezi-feminista-vagy-akkor-el-geted-a/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [“You can tell whether some misogynistic societal pressure is being exerted on women by calmly enquiring, ‘And are the men doing this, as well?’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/you-can-tell-whether-some-misogynistic-societal-pressure-is-being/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [You wanted to become a doctor to help people and feel better at the end of your job, I think, watching them, as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/you-wanted-to-become-a-doctor-to-help-people-and-feel-better-at-the/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [I think loads of women have this idea that their life is going to start at some point, once they've busted all these problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/i-think-loads-of-women-have-this-idea-that-their-life-is-going-to/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [When you've got a mother who's given birth to eight children, you know, often without any kind of medical intervention - just she gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/when-you-ve-got-a-mother-who-s-given-birth-to-eight-children-you-know/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [I’m neither ‘pro-women’ nor ‘anti-men’. I’m just ‘Thumbs up for the six billion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/i-m-neither-pro-women-nor-anti-men-i-m-just-thumbs-up-for-the-six/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [The doughy-faced woman has been forced to sit on the sidelines of culture for too long, and it's now time for us to stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/the-doughy-faced-woman-has-been-forced-to-sit-on-the-sidelines-of/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [“The more women argue, loudly, against feminism, the more they both prove it exists and that they enjoy its hard-won privileges.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/the-more-women-argue-loudly-against-feminism-the-more-they-both-prove/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [“...it's technically impossible for a woman to argue against feminism. Without feminism you wouldn't be allowed to have a debate on a woman's place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/it-s-technically-impossible-for-a-woman-to-argue-against-feminism/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [“But if there is to be a fifth wave of feminism, I would hope that the main thing that distinguishes it from all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/but-if-there-is-to-be-a-fifth-wave-of-feminism-i-would-hope-that-the/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [Why on earth have I, because I'm a woman, got to be nice to everyone?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/why-on-earth-have-i-because-i-m-a-woman-got-to-be-nice-to-everyone/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [The sort of the template of being a mother is that you're endlessly giving to the point of exhaustion. You know, that's amazing if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/the-sort-of-the-template-of-being-a-mother-is-that-you-re-endlessly/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [“Ha egyszerűen őszintén vállaljuk azt, hogy kik vagyunk, a csatát félig megnyertük. Ha szarul érzed magad mindattól, amit a magazinokban és a lapokban olvasol…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/ha-egyszer-en-szint-n-v-llaljuk-azt-hogy-kik-vagyunk-a-csat-t-f-lig/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [“A szőr a női lét egyik legelső és legnagyobb gondja. Hívatlanul jelenik meg, úgyhogy döntést kell hozni róla – ami magunknak és a külvilágnak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/a-sz-r-a-n-i-l-t-egyik-legels-s-legnagyobb-gondja-h-vatlanul-jelenik/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [When you talk to a young teenage girl, they're just full of self-loathing. The reason they feel self-loathing is they don't feel normal. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/when-you-talk-to-a-young-teenage-girl-they-re-just-full-of-self/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) [Explore all 306 Caitlin Moran quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) ## More Cathedrals quotes > [Universities are the cathedrals of the modern age. They shouldn't have to justify their existence by utilitarian criteria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lodge/universities-are-the-cathedrals-of-the-modern-age-they-shouldn-t-have/) [David Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lodge/) > [Even if you tried to extinguish your personality, what is left in the story will reflect it, perhaps by its negation. Our lives provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/even-if-you-tried-to-extinguish-your-personality-what-is-left-in-the/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [We will live to see the day that St. Patrick's Cathedral is a child-care center and the pope is no longer a disgrace to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/we-will-live-to-see-the-day-that-st-patrick-s-cathedral-is-a-child/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [The pursuit of peace resembles the building of a great cathedral. It is the work of a generation. In concept it requires a mater-architect;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/the-pursuit-of-peace-resembles-the-building-of-a-great-cathedral-it/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [Nothing is more urgent than a serious, dare I say compassionate, debate as to where we are going at home and abroad. Technicians cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/nothing-is-more-urgent-than-a-serious-dare-i-say-compassionate-debate/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [You can’t bring an unwritten place to life without losing something substantial. Manila is the cradle, the graveyard, the memory. The Mecca, the Cathedral,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/you-can-t-bring-an-unwritten-place-to-life-without-losing-something/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [My icons do not raise up the blessed savior in elaborate cathedrals. They are constructed concentrations celebrating barren rooms. They bring a limited light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-flavin/my-icons-do-not-raise-up-the-blessed-savior-in-elaborate-cathedrals/) [Dan Flavin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-flavin/) > [Her father had taught her about hands. About a dog's paws. Whenever her father was alone with a dog in a house he would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/her-father-had-taught-her-about-hands-about-a-dog-s-paws-whenever-her/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [Most buildings, whether they're Gothic cathedrals or Romanesque ones, were high tech for their time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rogers/most-buildings-whether-they-re-gothic-cathedrals-or-romanesque-ones/) [Richard Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rogers/) > [Many men build as cathedrals are built-the part nearest the ground finished, but that part which soars toward heaven, the turrets and the spires,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/many-men-build-as-cathedrals-are-built-the-part-nearest-the-ground/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“I believe that love is better than hate. And that there is more nobility in building a chicken coop than in destroying a cathedral.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-believe-that-love-is-better-than-hate-and-that-there-is-more/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If theory is the role of the architect, then such beautiful proofs are the role of the craftsman. Of course, as with the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-atiyah/if-theory-is-the-role-of-the-architect-then-such-beautiful-proofs-are/) [Michael Atiyah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-atiyah/) > [“Cathedrals are to be adored until the day when, to preserve them, it would be necessary to deny the truths which they teach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/cathedrals-are-to-be-adored-until-the-day-when-to-preserve-them-it/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Our respect for the dead, when they are just dead, is something wonderful, and the way we show it more wonderful still. We show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/our-respect-for-the-dead-when-they-are-just-dead-is-something/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [ \[Rumi\] is trying to get us to feel the vastness of our true identity... like the sense you might get walking into a cathedral... ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-barks/rumi-is-trying-to-get-us-to-feel-the-vastness-of-our-true-identity/) [Coleman Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-barks/) [Browse all 260 Cathedrals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cathedrals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A library in the middle of a community is a cross between an emergency exit, a life-raft and a festival. They are cathedrals of the mind; hospitals of the soul; theme parks of the imagination. On a cold rainy island, they are the only sheltered public spaces where you are not a consumer, but a citizen instead", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Caitlin Moran" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/a-library-in-the-middle-of-a-community-is-a-cross-between-an-3/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cathedrals" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/a-library-in-the-middle-of-a-community-is-a-cross-between-an-3/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/453/caitlin-moran-865_cathedrals_a-library-in-the-middle-of-a-community-i_2369380.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/453/caitlin-moran-865_cathedrals_a-library-in-the-middle-of-a-community-i_2369380.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/453/caitlin-moran-865_cathedrals_a-library-in-the-middle-of-a-community-i_2369380.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A library in the middle of a community is a cross between an emergency exit, a life-raft and a festival…” — Caitlin Moran", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Caitlin Moran", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A library in the middle of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/a-library-in-the-middle-of-a-community-is-a-cross-between-an-3/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/a-library-in-the-middle-of-a-community-is-a-cross-between-an-3/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```