"Yo, que me figuraba el Paraíso / Bajo la especie de una biblioteca. (I have always imagined Paradise as a kind of library)." - Borges Libraries, as physical p

"Yo, que me figuraba el Paraíso / Bajo la especie de una biblioteca. (I have always imagined Paradise as a kind of library)." - Borges Libraries, as physical places, have a sanctity about them and every discussion on "replacing libraries" have to take this into account, I think. It's the place where many people had their first ad hoc meeting with great writers there and had their real education, a notable example is Bukowski: "John Fante’s minor classic “Ask the Dust”; the book, which Bukowski accidentally discovered in the stacks of the Los Angeles Central Library, made a huge impression on him" (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/03/14/smashed https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/03/14/smashed). This, the random browsing among physical books, is the most important aspect of a library for me, I usually spend 90% of my time in libraries doing precisely that. After I had my son I also came to appreciate the children's area and the activities there in our local library (e.g. write a letter to our hamster"). The PC help function mentioned in the article also seems to important and popular. As for being a sanctuary for homeless people or those struggling with addiction: My anecdotal experience has been that such patrons are a usually disruptive (and sometimes frightening) influence in most city libraries. They usually use the space to sleep (snoring is forbidden though!) and for other activities. It's hard to come up with a better solution, though.