If you ever find yourself looking for refuge from all the political turmoil these days, I recommend visiting your local public library. If you have one that is relatively unscathed by those seeking to ban books or cut funding, count that as evidence of hope for civilization.
A cloudy, rainy afternoon provided a good backdrop for a recent visit to our local library. Upon entering you are greeted with creative displays promoting books and programs. It is busy with people browsing the book stacks, reading periodicals, or surfing the internet. Not everyone has access to that at home.
It’s quiet, peaceful. No phone chimes or loud voices prattling from screens. The monthly calendar is filled with events and programs: Cozy Book Club-5:30 p.m. Classic Movie Night. Lemonade and Literature-4:30 p.m. Seed Library Social-5:30 p.m. Crafter Dark-6 p.m. Some require registration, and most have no fee. And I am grateful that several libraries have hosted my “Words on Paper” program.
And the things you learn; serendipity plays a big part in a library visit. I learned that Sept. 17-23 is designated American Constitution Week. I wonder if that will make the 6 p.m. television newscast. A bookmark from the Daughters of the American Revolution proclaims: “The rules or laws of our country are written in the United States Constitution!” Wouldn’t that be great if all of our political leaders acted as if they believed that?
Instead of getting your information about government and politics from the day’s news, I suggest visiting a library and perusing books in Section 300 of the Dewey Decimal System, Social Sciences. Section 320 includes various aspects of politics. While not part of the 24-hour daily news cycle, books will help create a greater understanding of what’s going on in politics today.
Libraries doing okay, mostly
In Minnesota, local public libraries generally are doing okay, according to one regional library system director. They receive good support from the state and receive most funding from cities and counties. There’s always some undercurrent of politics and a few cases involving so-called controversial books, but no major book banning or burning campaigns.
An online search shows libraries in red states are facing greater pressures. Legislative bills would restrict materials dealing with race, LGBTQ+ identities, sex, and gender, or impose penalties for providing such. Or funding threats and defunding.
At the federal level, the Library of Congress has felt negative pressure from the current administration. In May 2025 Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, was abruptly fired. Todd Blanche was named interim librarian. Soon after, Shira Perlmutter, head of the U.S. Copyright Office (part of LOC), also was terminated. Her name appears on the Certificate of Registration for my new novel, Beyond All That Matters.
Busy during downturns
In terms of usage, libraries seem to be busier during economic downturns and uncertain times. Jobseekers may be browsing the web looking for work or at least trying to make productive use of their time. I recall doing that once between jobs.
Our local public library operates in a large, imposing building with granite walls and large windows. The interior is inviting and comfortable. As the local newspaper editor prior to the time it was built in 1999, I recall writing editorials in support of a local sales tax to build it. Local business owners generally opposed the sales tax, so we advised the library campaigners to focus on the Second Ward and its older demographic, readers and voters. That seemed to work.
Still, I miss the old Carnegie library once located across the street from the current library. Some communities have preserved theirs, the classic, Greek architecture often with a dome. But ours with a broad, steep stairway to the main door and no elevator, accessibility was an issue. Today, the space remains a parking lot.
A history lesson (900 Dewey DS)
Throughout history libraries have had bad times and good times. The inspiration for this topic arose in a random conversation about ancient Rome, and its fall in 476 CE, when the western empire fell to the invading Germans. That somehow morphed into recalling the vast, ancient library in Alexandria, Egypt.
It operated for more than 500 years beginning around 300 BCE. It suffered major damage in 48 BCE when soldiers of Julius Caesar set fire to nearby ships, which spread to the city and nearby library. Its decline began in 145 BCE when the Egyptian ruler, Ptolemy, began purging intellectuals from Alexandria. The head librarian resigned and went into exile. It suggests a historical parallel, if that’s what’s happening today in the U.S. So far today the parallel doesn’t seem to go beyond what happened to the U.S. Librarian of Congress and head of the Copyright Office.
Burgeoning with printed books and periodicals (words on paper), bustling with programs, served by dedicated and knowledgeable staff, our public libraries continue to maintain and provide knowledge, and in a setting like an oasis in a desert of distractions from social media misinformation and deliberate manipulation by misanthropes in positions of wealth and power.
Take a break from that. Visit your local public library, savor the peace and quiet, and check out a book or two. Surely it has some that you haven’t yet read. I know of three among the alphabetical-by-author shelves (PET) in the fiction section (Good Ice, Buffalo Ridge, The Swineherd’s Angel). Soon there will be a fourth (Beyond All That Matters).
