--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A library is a different kind of social…" description: "\"“A library is a different kind of social reality (of the three dimensional kind), which by its very existence teaches a system of values beyond the fis..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/zadie-smith-584_britain_a-library-is-a-different-kind-of-social_469817.png" --- # A library is a different kind of social reality (of the… ![“A library is a different kind of social reality (of the three dimensional kind), which by its very existence teaches a system of values beyond the fiscal.” quote by Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/zadie-smith-584_britain_a-library-is-a-different-kind-of-social_469817.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/zadie-smith-584_britain_a-library-is-a-different-kind-of-social_469817.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/zadie-smith-584_britain_a-library-is-a-different-kind-of-social_469817.png) > ““A library is a different kind of social reality (of the three dimensional kind), which by its very existence teaches a system of values beyond the fiscal.”” [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Libraries embody a distinct social reality that teaches values beyond economics. **In simple terms:** Libraries teach values beyond money. Key Takeaway Value libraries as cultural value hubs. Themes culture education social values public spaces Mood reflective inspirational Type cultural educational When to use this quote - school trips - urban planning - policy making - community events Key Concepts sociology public good community building Questions to Reflect On - How do libraries shape community values? - What would a world without libraries look like? A Different Perspective Funding cuts threaten these values. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Britain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/britain/) [Libraries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libraries/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Library Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library-different-2129384/) [Social Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-reality-617483/) [Teaches Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaches-values-4064275/) [Values Fiscal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values-fiscal-4064276/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [And it's one reason why I don't go to a lot of movies - they're more and more dominated by corporate values and fiscal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-wright/and-it-s-one-reason-why-i-don-t-go-to-a-lot-of-movies-they-re-more/) [Jeffrey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-wright/) > [One of the things we learned from that panel is the way poor communities use a library is very different from wealthy communities. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/one-of-the-things-we-learned-from-that-panel-is-the-way-poor/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [Well-run libraries are filled with people because what a good library offers cannot be easily found elsewhere: an indoor public space in which you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/well-run-libraries-are-filled-with-people-because-what-a-good-library/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [When Delaware State University was founded in 1890, it was not by choice, but by social reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-n-castle/when-delaware-state-university-was-founded-in-1890-it-was-not-by/) [Michael N. Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-n-castle/) > [Reason has never really directed social reality, but now reason has been so thoroughly purged of any specific trend or preference that it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-horkheimer/reason-has-never-really-directed-social-reality-but-now-reason-has/) [Max Horkheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-horkheimer/) > [To come to know that nothing is good, nothing is bad, is a turning point; it is a conversion. You start looking in; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-come-to-know-that-nothing-is-good-nothing-is-bad-is-a-turning/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“P24- the power of school loss to divide social reality has no boundaries education becomes unworldly and the world becomes noneducational”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/p24-the-power-of-school-loss-to-divide-social-reality-has-no/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-sapir/no-two-languages-are-ever-sufficiently-similar-to-be-considered-as-2/) [Edward Sapir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-sapir/) > [“Thing is, what does a hero look like these days? Muscles and lycra? Life isn’t a contest of strength anymore. Jobs, banks, taxes. 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Nevertheless, it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/i-don-t-like-mtv-and-i-don-t-like-the-culture-that-goes-with-it-it-s/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [“It is in the legitimation of death that the transcending potency of symbolic universes manifests itself most clearly, and the fundamental terror-assuaging character of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-berger/it-is-in-the-legitimation-of-death-that-the-transcending-potency-of/) [Peter L. Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/) > [No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. The worlds in which different societies live are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/no-two-languages-are-ever-sufficiently-similar-to-be-considered-as/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“Habermas says that our work upon the world has the instrumental interest of "technical control." When we engage in producing something our only interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-h-groome/habermas-says-that-our-work-upon-the-world-has-the-instrumental/) [Thomas H. Groome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-h-groome/) > [It is a strange and wonderful fact to be here, walking around in a body, to have a whole world within you and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/it-is-a-strange-and-wonderful-fact-to-be-here-walking-around-in-a/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) ## More by Zadie Smith > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“Pretty girls lie at the centre of straight culture, dyke culture, fag culture. They sell everything, they buy everything, they ruin great men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/pretty-girls-lie-at-the-centre-of-straight-culture-dyke-culture-fag/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“I have known many true connoisseurs, with excellent tastes that range across the humanities and the culinary arts--and they never fail to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-have-known-many-true-connoisseurs-with-excellent-tastes-that-range/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [I cannot believe homosexuality is that much fun. Heterosexuality certainly is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-cannot-believe-homosexuality-is-that-much-fun-heterosexuality/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“Either everything is sacred or nothing is. And if he starts burning other people’s things, then he loses something sacred also. 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I don't like them around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-don-t-keep-any-copies-of-my-books-in-the-house-they-go-to-my-mum-s/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [But it makes an immigrant laugh to hear the fears of the nationalist, scared of infection, penetration, miscegenation, when this is small fry, peanuts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/but-it-makes-an-immigrant-laugh-to-hear-the-fears-of-the-nationalist/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [Oh, I know that. You know me, baby, I cannot be broken. Takes a giant to snap me in half.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/oh-i-know-that-you-know-me-baby-i-cannot-be-broken-takes-a-giant-to/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“In short, it was precisely the kind of friendship and Englishman makes on holiday, that he can make only on holiday. A friendship that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/in-short-it-was-precisely-the-kind-of-friendship-and-englishman-makes/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [I suppose I often think of my writing as quite impersonal. But it turned out, when my father died, writing was exactly what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-suppose-i-often-think-of-my-writing-as-quite-impersonal-but-it/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“Some of us are happy with our African hair, thank you very much. I don't want some poor Indian girl's hair. And I wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/some-of-us-are-happy-with-our-african-hair-thank-you-very-much-i-don/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [You can't state difference and also state equality. We have to state sameness to understand equality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-can-t-state-difference-and-also-state-equality-we-have-to-state/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“(Unlike many others around this time, Joyce felt no shame about using the term 'middle class'. In the Chalfen lexicon the middle classes were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/unlike-many-others-around-this-time-joyce-felt-no-shame-about-using/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [A lot of women, when they're young, feel they have very good friends, and find later on that friendship is complicated. It's easy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/a-lot-of-women-when-they-re-young-feel-they-have-very-good-friends/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) [Explore all 457 Zadie Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) ## More Britain quotes > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [In Britain, the press want to kill a show by revealing what's coming up and spoiling the pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-bonneville/in-britain-the-press-want-to-kill-a-show-by-revealing-what-s-coming/) [Hugh Bonneville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-bonneville/) > [If we don't like modern Britain, then it is very unlikely that modern Britain will like us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/if-we-don-t-like-modern-britain-then-it-is-very-unlikely-that-modern/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [It is time Britain put its trust back into the Labour Party. I believe I am the candidate that can make this happen precisely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-abbott/it-is-time-britain-put-its-trust-back-into-the-labour-party-i-believe/) [Diane Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-abbott/) > [Britain has the IRA and no one cancels concerts there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-osbourne/britain-has-the-ira-and-no-one-cancels-concerts-there/) [Sharon Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-osbourne/) > [The establishment in Britain is certainly against the arts and against education. If something doesn't make a profit, it's invalid, and art doesn't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maxwell-davies/the-establishment-in-britain-is-certainly-against-the-arts-and/) [Peter Maxwell Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maxwell-davies/) > [We from every religion feel comfortable in Britain because there is a host. The Church of England is a good host, it has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/we-from-every-religion-feel-comfortable-in-britain-because-there-is-a/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [The larger an English industry was, the more likely it was to go bankrupt, because the English were not naturally corporate people; they disliked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-larger-an-english-industry-was-the-more-likely-it-was-to-go/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [I think the first person to call me 'Britain's Obama' was Martin Bright at the New Statesman. Harriet Harman made the comparison once at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuka-umunna/i-think-the-first-person-to-call-me-britain-s-obama-was-martin-bright/) [Chuka Umunna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuka-umunna/) > [I am the last of Britain's stately homos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/i-am-the-last-of-britain-s-stately-homos/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [ As for whether what happened in Britain improves\[Donald\] Trump's chances of winning, I don't think so. He has the same chances; we may just… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-michael-cillizza/as-for-whether-what-happened-in-britain-improves-donald-trump-s/) [Christopher Michael Cillizza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-michael-cillizza/) > [Britain, like other European states, is not and never will again be in the top-world-power league, so its male leaders can afford to play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-colley/britain-like-other-european-states-is-not-and-never-will-again-be-in/) [Linda Colley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-colley/) > [When you go away, you see where you come from in a different light. I see Scotland, and the rest of Britain, as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/when-you-go-away-you-see-where-you-come-from-in-a-different-light-i/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [It was very hard breaking into the film industry in Britain. I had been to art school, and I was painting and doing commercials.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-scott/it-was-very-hard-breaking-into-the-film-industry-in-britain-i-had/) [Tony Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-scott/) > [Germany has always stood for an E.U. of the 27 countries. But in light of Britain's continued resistance to further integration steps, as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-schauble/germany-has-always-stood-for-an-e-u-of-the-27-countries-but-in-light/) [Wolfgang Schauble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-schauble/) [Browse all 1,648 Britain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/britain/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A library is a different kind of social reality (of the three dimensional kind), which by its very existence teaches a system of values beyond the fiscal.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Zadie Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/a-library-is-a-different-kind-of-social-reality-of-the-three/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Britain" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/a-library-is-a-different-kind-of-social-reality-of-the-three/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/zadie-smith-584_britain_a-library-is-a-different-kind-of-social_469817.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/zadie-smith-584_britain_a-library-is-a-different-kind-of-social_469817.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/zadie-smith-584_britain_a-library-is-a-different-kind-of-social_469817.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A library is a different kind of social reality (of the three dimensional kind), which by its very existence…” — Zadie Smith", "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": "Zadie Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A library is a different kind...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/a-library-is-a-different-kind-of-social-reality-of-the-three/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/a-library-is-a-different-kind-of-social-reality-of-the-three/#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 } } ] } ```