--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A public library is the most democratic…" description: "\"A public library is the most democratic thing in the world. What can be found there has undone dictators and tyrants: demagogues can persecute writers ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e9/doris-lessing-501_book_a-public-library-is-the-most-democratic_2673969.jpg" --- # A public library is the most democratic thing in the… ![“A public library is the most democratic thing in the world. What can be found there has undone dictators and tyrants: demagogues can persecute writers and tell them what to write as much as they like, but they cannot vanish what has been written in the past, though they try often enough...People…” quote by Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e9/doris-lessing-501_book_a-public-library-is-the-most-democratic_2673969.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e9/doris-lessing-501_book_a-public-library-is-the-most-democratic_2673969.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e9/doris-lessing-501_book_a-public-library-is-the-most-democratic_2673969.jpg) > “A public library is the most democratic thing in the world. What can be found there has undone dictators and tyrants: demagogues can persecute writers and tell them what to write as much as they like, but they cannot vanish what has been written in the past, though they try often enough...People who love literature have at least part of their minds immune from indoctrination. If you read, you can learn to think for yourself.” [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Libraries preserve ideas beyond political control, allowing individuals to think independently and resist indoctrination. **In simple terms:** Libraries keep knowledge safe from tyranny. Key Takeaway Support and use public libraries. Themes democracy freedom of information literacy Mood hopeful inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - research - self-education - activism - community building Key Concepts censorship intellectual independence public good Questions to Reflect On - What book has changed your perspective? - How can libraries become more inclusive? A Different Perspective Access to books alone may not guarantee critical thinking without guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Dictator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dictator/) [Indoctrination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indoctrination/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Love literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-literature/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Public library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-library/) [Think for yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-for-yourself/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Tyrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyrants/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [People who love literature have at least part of their minds immune from indoctrination. If you read, you can learn to think for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/people-who-love-literature-have-at-least-part-of-their-minds-immune/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [A public library is the most democratic thing in the world. What can be found there has undone dictators and tyrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/a-public-library-is-the-most-democratic-thing-in-the-world-what-can/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [If you read, you can learn to think for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/if-you-read-you-can-learn-to-think-for-yourself/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [A woman writer, quitting love before literature when love lets her down, will put literature before love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/a-woman-writer-quitting-love-before-literature-when-love-lets-her/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“If publishers are here, I've got a feeling they will agree with whatever I say because the publishing houses are packed full of people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/if-publishers-are-here-i-ve-got-a-feeling-they-will-agree-with/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [we have not yet developed a system of education that is not a system of indoctrination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/we-have-not-yet-developed-a-system-of-education-that-is-not-a-system/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [Ideally, what should be said to every child, repeatedly, throughout his or her school life is something like this: "You are in the process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/ideally-what-should-be-said-to-every-child-repeatedly-throughout-his-2/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“Ideally, what should be said to every child, repeatedly, throughout his or her school life is something like this: 'You are in the process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/ideally-what-should-be-said-to-every-child-repeatedly-throughout-his/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/love-is-a-temporary-madness-it-erupts-like-an-earthquake-and-then-2/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [ It was the last generation of writers \[ the Cheers\] that had grown up reading books instead of watching TV. So you weren't getting… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ratzenberger/it-was-the-last-generation-of-writers-the-cheers-that-had-grown-up/) [John Ratzenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ratzenberger/) > [When you fall in love, it is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake, and then it subsides. And when it subsides, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-bernieres/when-you-fall-in-love-it-is-a-temporary-madness-it-erupts-like-an/) [Louis de Bernieres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-bernieres/) > [“I had let my digust with teaching ruin my love of literature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harrison/i-had-let-my-digust-with-teaching-ruin-my-love-of-literature/) [Jim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harrison/) > [There are people out there who genuinely love literature, who genuinely love to read and read widely, who will never like, or even necessarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/there-are-people-out-there-who-genuinely-love-literature-who/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [Literary theory has become a parody of science, generating its own arcane jargon. In the process, tragically, it discourages love of literature for its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/literary-theory-has-become-a-parody-of-science-generating-its-own/) [Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/) > [Years later, I figured out why he (Ivan Karp) was such a successful art dealer-this may sound strange, but I believe it was because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/years-later-i-figured-out-why-he-ivan-karp-was-such-a-successful-art/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) ## More by Doris Lessing > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“In the morning, when she wishes me to wake, she crouches on my chest, and pats my face with her paw. Or, if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/in-the-morning-when-she-wishes-me-to-wake-she-crouches-on-my-chest/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [You know, whenever women make imaginary female kingdoms in literature, they are always very permissive, to use the jargon word, and easy and generous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/you-know-whenever-women-make-imaginary-female-kingdoms-in-literature/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [There is only one real sin and that is to persuade oneself that the second best is anything but second best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/there-is-only-one-real-sin-and-that-is-to-persuade-oneself-that-the/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“She was using the water as she had used the fruit earlier—to calm herself, to assure herself of the possibility of normality. Yet all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/she-was-using-the-water-as-she-had-used-the-fruit-earlier-to-calm/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I remember World War II when there were very few books, very little paper available. For me to walk into a shop or look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-remember-world-war-ii-when-there-were-very-few-books-very-little/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [They can't give a Nobel to someone who's dead so I think they were probably thinking they had better give it to me now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/they-can-t-give-a-nobel-to-someone-who-s-dead-so-i-think-they-were/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“While she strode rapidly through the ward to the door at the other end, she was able to see that every bed or cot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/while-she-strode-rapidly-through-the-ward-to-the-door-at-the-other/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I do not think that marriage is one of my talents. I've been much happier unmarried than married.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-do-not-think-that-marriage-is-one-of-my-talents-i-ve-been-much/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I haven't got the energy to write now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-haven-t-got-the-energy-to-write-now/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [What really fascinates me is this need that is so strong now that if you read a work of the imagination you instantly have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-really-fascinates-me-is-this-need-that-is-so-strong-now-that-if/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“The charge that the United Nations are using bacteriological warfare in Korea cannot be dismissed merely because it would be insane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-charge-that-the-united-nations-are-using-bacteriological-warfare/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [What I did have, which others perhaps didn't, was a capacity for sticking at it, which really is the point, not the talent at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-i-did-have-which-others-perhaps-didn-t-was-a-capacity-for/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [The human community is evolving... . We can survive anything you care to mention. We are supremely equipped to survive, to adapt and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-human-community-is-evolving-we-can-survive-anything-you-care-to/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [So love is rest? The cosy corner? The little nook? Sometimes it ought to be. Sometimes it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/so-love-is-rest-the-cosy-corner-the-little-nook-sometimes-it-ought-to/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) [Explore all 508 Doris Lessing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A public library is the most democratic thing in the world. 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