in praise of public libraries

This is the Ewart Library in Dumfries, and opened in 1904 and a lovely sandstone building . William Ewart was a Liberal MP who campaigned for public libraries in the 1840s. He met with a lot of opposition from Conservatives, who resented the fact that wealthy people would be paying for institutions which would be mainly used by the less well-off... ' they have too much knowledge already' said one, but adding that more education would make the working classes more difficult to manage.

I have spent many happy hours in public libraries and am grateful to William Ewart and his ilk.

Knowledge is power.