I agree that sharing what you know is important, but a lot of it can be done online. If you want to see a lecture, watching a video is probably a better way to

I agree that sharing what you know is important, but a lot of it can be done online. If you want to see a lecture, watching a video is probably a better way to do it, and it can reach a lot more people. Access to academic papers is better done online. If you read the MIT library access policy for visitors [1], it's pretty restrictive anyway. University libraries mostly aren't public libraries. So it seems like the question isn't whether a university provide benefits to the public, but rather, what does the public actually gain from physical access? Are physical visits important for practical reasons, or are they primarily symbolic? [1] https://libguides.mit.edu/c.php?g=176243&p=1160451 https://libguides.mit.edu/c.php?g=176243&p=1160451