It hardly matters why a library is destroyed: every banning, curtailment, shredding, plunder or loot gives rise (at least as a ghostly presence) to a louder, clearer, more durable library of the banned, looted, plundered, shredded or curtailed.

Alberto Manguel
About This Quote

Ever since libraries started to get used, more than two thousand years ago, they have been under constant threat. They are given up to be burned during riots or given to the people so they can take them home and read them. Librarians all over the world try to save their books, but unfortunately it’s not enough. Every time the threat of book burning comes back, it gives rise to a stronger library. Even when libraries are destroyed or damaged, it gives rise to a new library that is even more powerful.

Source: The Library At Night

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