--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [On libraries] What's great about them is…" description: "\"[On libraries] What's great about them is that anybody can go into them and find a book and borrow it free of charge and read it. They don't have to st..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a95/stephen-fry-573_book_on-libraries-what-s-great-about-them-is_3046106.jpg" --- # \[On libraries\] What's great about them is that anybody can… ![“[On libraries] What's great about them is that anybody can go into them and find a book and borrow it free of charge and read it. They don't have to steal it from a bookshop... You know when you're young, you're growing up, they're almost sexually exciting places because books are powerhouses of…” quote by Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a95/stephen-fry-573_book_on-libraries-what-s-great-about-them-is_3046106.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a95/stephen-fry-573_book_on-libraries-what-s-great-about-them-is_3046106.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a95/stephen-fry-573_book_on-libraries-what-s-great-about-them-is_3046106.jpg) > “\[On libraries\] What's great about them is that anybody can go into them and find a book and borrow it free of charge and read it. They don't have to steal it from a bookshop... You know when you're young, you're growing up, they're almost sexually exciting places because books are powerhouses of knowledge, and therefore they're kind of slightly dark and dangerous. You see books that kind of make you go 'Oh!'” [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Libraries provide free, unrestricted access to knowledge, making them empowering and slightly rebellious spaces for curious minds. **In simple terms:** Libraries give free access to books, feeling exciting and a bit rebellious. Key Takeaway Visit your local library and explore new ideas. Themes knowledge access freedom curiosity rebellion Mood inspired reflective hopeful Type educational motivational cultural When to use this quote - students seeking knowledge - researchers needing resources - community members looking for safe spaces - parents encouraging reading Key Concepts public good literacy social equity Questions to Reflect On - How does free access to books change a community? - What makes a library feel rebellious? A Different Perspective Limited hours or funding can restrict access for some. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Bookshop Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bookshop-know-5044563/) [Bookshops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bookshops/) [Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous/) [Dangerous Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous-books-5044564/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Exciting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exciting/) [Growing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Libraries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libraries/) [Libraries Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libraries-great-573807/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Sexually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexually/) [Steal Bookshop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steal-bookshop-5044562/) [Stealing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stealing/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) ## Related quotes > [“Reading and writing dangerous books lets me be who I can't be and say what I can't say in everyday life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger-2/reading-and-writing-dangerous-books-lets-me-be-who-i-can-t-be-and-say/) [Carla H. Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger-2/) > [“Libraries were like a second home to me, not really a shocker given my lack of much of a social life, and I’d noticed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-k-savage/libraries-were-like-a-second-home-to-me-not-really-a-shocker-given-my/) [H.K. Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-k-savage/) > [“the sooner we can accelerate the adoption of digital books, the better it will be for libraries and the more likely that some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-merkoski/the-sooner-we-can-accelerate-the-adoption-of-digital-books-the-better/) [Jason Merkoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-merkoski/) > [Public libraries are our great teachers and storytellers, and are a vital adjunct to our schools. 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About accursed books, about a man who wrote them, about a character who broke out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/well-this-is-a-story-about-books-about-books-about-accursed-books/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Quite often I can be in a bookshop, standing beneath a great big picture of myself and paying for a book with a credit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/quite-often-i-can-be-in-a-bookshop-standing-beneath-a-great-big/) [John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/) > [If your memory was OK you could descend upon on a bookshop – a big enough one so that the staff wouldn’t hassle a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/if-your-memory-was-ok-you-could-descend-upon-on-a-bookshop-a-big/) [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) > [“A bookshop is a peaceful sanctuary of silent voices waiting to heard”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mala-naidoo/a-bookshop-is-a-peaceful-sanctuary-of-silent-voices-waiting-to-heard/) [Mala Naidoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mala-naidoo/) ## More by Stephen Fry > [“...Catholic versus Protestant, essentially. 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Apart from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/i-ve-never-had-any-illusions-about-being-a-lead-actor-in-films/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [Because, let's face it, I do not get offered the parts that Brad Pitt has just turned down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/because-let-s-face-it-i-do-not-get-offered-the-parts-that-brad-pitt/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [I will defend the absolute value of Mozart over Miley Cyrus, of course I will, but we should be wary of false dichotomies. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/i-will-defend-the-absolute-value-of-mozart-over-miley-cyrus-of-course/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [You can't just say there is a god because the world is beautiful. 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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. 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