More Library quotes in modern fiction

Ah-ha -- there are more quotes--

"Libraries are the one American institution you shouldn't rip off"
Barabara Kingsolver, ANIMAL DREAMS
Kingsolver's point? Why steal what you can have for free? It's your building, your materials anyway, so you are stealing from yourself? Sharing information and recreational materials is part of the fun of libraries, stealing denies a whole lot of people that fun--even the thief. What do you think Kingsolver is telling us?

"A man's library is a sort of harem."
Ralph Waldo Emerson, THE CONDUCT OF LIFE, 1860.
You gotta love Emerson -- he has created an outstanding word picture. The fanciful harem dancing in book form? Or is it the heroine? Or is he dreaming of a room full of ideas, thoughts, poetry? A place where you can linger in pleasure indefinitely. Ah, Emerson, your description may be perfection.

And thank you, Richard, for sharing these quotes.