Leonidas Aretakis: the Libraries are democracy's beating heart

the Library is the most beautiful expression of true democracy as can be.

these are the Words of the teacher Valfrid Palmgrens, the brain and the heart behind our modern biblioteksväsende.

the Idea developed in her proposal to the bibliotekspolitik from 1911. There, she writes about how children's imagination can be stimulated by picture books, and how libraries are a school that the adults never outgrow. But in addition to be a gathering place for people of all ages, they are a ”cohesive tie between all of a society's inhabitants”.

designed in 2019, when she describes the society's division between the different religious and political beliefs. But libraries can blodsfiender scroll at each other's side, take note of each other's ideas, and become equals in the experience of a good book.

How big is not the need for such places in the day?

Gratifying, then, that the Stockholm library last year hit a record 11 million visits. Most increases ytterstadsdelar, Fruängen and Hässelby gård, and in addition, we borrowed more books.

Read more: Concern in the Stockholm library: ”Historically, the sharp savings”

said kulturborgarrådet Jonas Naddebo (C) that he ”looks forward to developing the business further”. Which is about what Judas had said to Jesus on the mount of olives remained at Stureplan.

For now, it has blue-green rule pushed through cuts that are forcing the Library to cut 40 posts, and more to come next year. A prohibitive loss of skills as librarians in the several appeals made it clear will make a big damage.

So, the military is dubbelstöten: first, pick the conservative, until the cutting board is by sleight libraries in various exaggerated stökdebatter, and then will the neo-liberals to run slaktkniven right into democracy's beating heart.

an overstatement when talking about? Hardly.

we are not primarily customers, but citizens. Where it doesn't matter if you are rich or poor, where you can sit for hours and read without having to buy anything, and where the exits are packed with posters about free lectures rather than godislådor. (Yes, ”pharmacies”, I'm looking at you.)

Valfrid Palmgren was a conservative, but considered the issue of libraries so obvious that she reached over a hand to the labour party: ”If ever all of a society's members, independent af the social status and other interests, to be able to gather about any institution, so this should be about the library.”

Therefore, perhaps we should be grateful. The libraries are extremely popular. When right now across the country on adult education and the free culture begins its fanaticism to become manifest. For who the hell can properly be received and formed the citizens?

the demonstration in front of the Kulturhuset at Sergels torg in order to save the libraries. The battle for democracy can begin.