--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For many children, the library represents…" description: "\"For many children, the library represents their only access to books, reading, and the Internet outside of their home. If you think about how far behin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/karin-slaughter-1463_books_for-many-children-the-library-represents_3152564.png" --- # For many children, the library represents their only… ![“For many children, the library represents their only access to books, reading, and the Internet outside of their home. If you think about how far behind a child would be without access to these fundamental tools - tools that are vital to successful employment later in life - it's a travesty.” quote by Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/karin-slaughter-1463_books_for-many-children-the-library-represents_3152564.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/karin-slaughter-1463_books_for-many-children-the-library-represents_3152564.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/karin-slaughter-1463_books_for-many-children-the-library-represents_3152564.png) > “For many children, the library represents their only access to books, reading, and the Internet outside of their home. If you think about how far behind a child would be without access to these fundamental tools - tools that are vital to successful employment later in life - it's a travesty.” [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) ## 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 crucial gateways to knowledge and digital resources for children lacking home access, making their absence a societal injustice. **In simple terms:** Libraries give children essential learning tools. Key Takeaway Support and expand library access. Themes education equity community Mood urgent hopeful Type advocacy social commentary When to use this quote - school programs - after‑school tutoring - policy advocacy - family outreach Key Concepts social justice digital divide Questions to Reflect On - How can communities protect library funding? - What alternatives exist where libraries are absent? A Different Perspective Funding and political will can limit library services. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [As a kid, I would get my parents to drop me off at my local library on their way to work during the summer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/as-a-kid-i-would-get-my-parents-to-drop-me-off-at-my-local-library-on/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I wish it were true that every child had access to an education that helped them reach their full potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-alderman/i-wish-it-were-true-that-every-child-had-access-to-an-education-that/) [Naomi Alderman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-alderman/) > [More than a building that houses books and data, the library represents a window to a larger world, the place where we've always come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/more-than-a-building-that-houses-books-and-data-the-library/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [A library represents the mind of its collector, his fancies and foibles, his strength and weakness, his prejudices and preferences. Particularly is this the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-osler/a-library-represents-the-mind-of-its-collector-his-fancies-and/) [William Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-osler/) > [There is something almost sacred about a great library because it represents the preservation of the wisdom, the learning, and the pondering of men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/there-is-something-almost-sacred-about-a-great-library-because-it/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [“Some men," Flamel irresistibly added, "think of books merely as tools, others as tooling. I'm between the two; there are days when I use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/some-men-flamel-irresistibly-added-think-of-books-merely-as-tools/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [A library represents the mind of its collector, fancies and foibles, strengths and weaknesses, prejudices and preferences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-osler/a-library-represents-the-mind-of-its-collector-fancies-and-foibles/) [William Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-osler/) > [“I love libraries. I love books. There is something sacred, I think, about a great library because it represents the preservation of the wisdom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/i-love-libraries-i-love-books-there-is-something-sacred-i-think-about/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [My library card. Every hurdle I've faced, I have researched my way over at a library. I'm grateful for that part of the American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-bird/my-library-card-every-hurdle-i-ve-faced-i-have-researched-my-way-over/) [Sarah Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-bird/) > [Free and fair access to books - to reading - is a right and one we should fight for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-mosse/free-and-fair-access-to-books-to-reading-is-a-right-and-one-we-should/) [Kate Mosse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-mosse/) > [You know, you don't expect everyone to be as educated as everyone else or have the same achievements, but you expect at least to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-know-you-don-t-expect-everyone-to-be-as-educated-as-everyone-else/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [I had access to books, and I could read... but that more foundational, basic historical awareness, I didn't have any of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-had-access-to-books-and-i-could-read-but-that-more-foundational/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [“Today the sight that discourages book people most is to walk into a public library and see computers where books used to be. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcmurtry/today-the-sight-that-discourages-book-people-most-is-to-walk-into-a/) [Larry McMurtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcmurtry/) > [Access to books and the encouragement of the habit of reading: these two things are the first and most necessary steps in education and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-morpurgo/access-to-books-and-the-encouragement-of-the-habit-of-reading-these/) [Michael Morpurgo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-morpurgo/) > [“I'm not, like, a book guy, but isn't the point of all this book stuff like what Ms. Croft was teaching us -- that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-connis/i-m-not-like-a-book-guy-but-isn-t-the-point-of-all-this-book-stuff/) David Connis ## More by Karin Slaughter > [With 'Pretty Girls,' I saw the opportunity to talk not just about crime but what crime leaves behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/with-pretty-girls-i-saw-the-opportunity-to-talk-not-just-about-crime/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [I've always been drawn to dark stories. I enjoy reading Flannery O'Connor, Patricia Highsmith, and Margaret Mitchell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-ve-always-been-drawn-to-dark-stories-i-enjoy-reading-flannery-o/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [I love puns. I've been known to turn the car around just to take advantage of a good pun situation. It really is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-love-puns-i-ve-been-known-to-turn-the-car-around-just-to-take/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [Usually, when inspiration strikes late, the light of day reveals that I haven't gotten an idea for a book so much as a psychiatric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/usually-when-inspiration-strikes-late-the-light-of-day-reveals-that-i/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [“To all the librarians in the world on behalf of all the kids y’all helped grow up to be writers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/to-all-the-librarians-in-the-world-on-behalf-of-all-the-kids-y-all/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [“Moon was from somewhere up east, the kind of place where consonants took on a life of their own. In addition to this, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/moon-was-from-somewhere-up-east-the-kind-of-place-where-consonants/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [Feminism has been so co-opted, but the fact is, feminism benefits men as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/feminism-has-been-so-co-opted-but-the-fact-is-feminism-benefits-men/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [Librarians have always stood up for writers and readers in every kind of community across this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/librarians-have-always-stood-up-for-writers-and-readers-in-every-kind/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [“I’ve got to figure out before I die whether I want to be happy or I want to be right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-ve-got-to-figure-out-before-i-die-whether-i-want-to-be-happy-or-i/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [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/) > [In the South, we drink the Bible with our mother's milk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/in-the-south-we-drink-the-bible-with-our-mother-s-milk/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [Denise Mina is probably one of the most gifted writers out there, whether it's mystery or literary or whatever label you want to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/denise-mina-is-probably-one-of-the-most-gifted-writers-out-there/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [If there is still an American dream, reading is one of the bootstraps by which we can all pull ourselves up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/if-there-is-still-an-american-dream-reading-is-one-of-the-bootstraps/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [I love reading almost as much as I love writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-love-reading-almost-as-much-as-i-love-writing/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [“a large chifforobe wedged into a small closet that their mother said they’d have to pay Tom Robinson a nickel to bust up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/a-large-chifforobe-wedged-into-a-small-closet-that-their-mother-said/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) [Explore all 237 Karin Slaughter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) ## More Books 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/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [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/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [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/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [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/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For many children, the library represents their only access to books, reading, and the Internet outside of their home. 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