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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Grendel_Khan" data-source="post: 8595240" data-attributes="member: 7028554">I've loved libraries my whole life for nerdy reasons, and later because I have a kid, but at least in the U.S., disasters like severe weather and the pandemic have really revealed how much of a social safety net libraries are. Where I live major storms knock out the town's power about once a year, usually for days, and people who otherwise never set foot in the library are there to charge their phones, drink the free coffee set out for the occasion, and stay warm. Libraries also started distributing Covid self-tests when they were virtually impossible to get, and still offer them free-of-charge to residents--the staff don't even ask for proof of residency. They're just nice people doing something nice, no judgments or shade!Libraries are also one of the last public spaces in the U.S. where you don't have to pay to be there. That is such a big deal, and so rare that, combined with all the other free resources they provide, libraries frankly feel un-American to me now. It's a minor miracle that they still exist, and I truly love them, and the staff who work them. Even the very rare grumpy ones.</blockquote>