In answer to this: "If you imagine yourself as a kid now, why not get that stuff on your phone? Why do you need the building? " Here's what Gaiman had to say:
"I think, firstly, nobody is curating the information for you. Nobody is giving you a safe space. I used to love libraries at school. Because school libraries had an enforced quiet policy, which meant they tended to be bully-free zones. They were places where you could do your homework, you could do stuff, whether it was reading books, or getting on with things that you wanted to get on with, and know that you were safe there. And people responded to your enthusiasms. If you like a certain writer, or a certain genre, librarians love that. They love pointing you at things that you’ll also like. And that gets magical. If you like RA Lafferty, you’ll like Ursula Le Guin, you’ll like Tolkien. And there’s web access. I’ve talked to a lot of librarians, and one of the things that they do is help people who do not have web access. Most job applications, and a lot of information on benefits and things like that, are out on the web. We act as if a smartphone and internet access are now handed out at birth. But it’s simply not true. A lot of people don’t have web access."This is the heart of the matter here. Libraries curate the information. Librarians care about you and your interest. It doesn't matter what the interest is, they're going to help you along with it. It doesn't matter if you're looking for a pastime fiction book or a new career, there's a resource for it ready and at your disposal.
Thank you Mr. Gaiman.
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