2007 October 20 » Library & Literary Miscellany

20th October 2007

Some Favorite Quotes on Libraries and Literature

Out of the mouths of others one can find much wisdom (and humor) regarding libraries and literature. Here are just a few quotes and some links should you wish to track down more:

Library: Here is where people, One frequently finds, Lower their voices, And raise their minds. Richard Armour
Reading is for me a stimulus for reflection, a source of pleasure, and a professional imperative. Corinne A. Allen
Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and take for granted, nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider. Francis Bacon
I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library. Jorge Luis Borges
You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them. Ray Bradbury (check out Fahrenheit 451 for details)
A room without books is as a body without a soul. Cicero
Never judge a book by its movie. J.W. Eagan
Fiction allows us to slide into these other heads, these other places, and look out through other eyes. Neil Gaiman
Libraries never let us forget who we are, for their worth stands by the knowledge they keep and save for us. Virginia Hamilton
A man’s mind, stretched by new ideas, can never go back to its original dimensions. Oliver Wendell Holmes
Perhaps no place is so totally democratic as the town library. The only entrance requirement is interest. Lady Bird Johnson
Perhaps no place is so totally democratic as the town library. The only entrance requirement is interest. Juliana Kimball
Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read Groucho Marx
You see, I don’t believe that libraries should be drab places where people sit in silence, and that’s been the main reason for our policy of employing wild animals as librarians. Monty Python
The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug. Mark Twain