Katie Graham

“In the United States, fascism is on the rise. Libraries are under attack. Some pundits ask why universities bother with departments that don’t just teach students to write computer code. Violent bigotry is fashionable again, and for many people, the appeal of politics is the opportunity to impose cruelty on others. The admonition to remember has never seemed so important.”
― Elyse Graham, Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II

“Art is the result of facing almost no survival pressure at all. It’s the product of leisure time. Our big brains, the most complex instruments known in the universe, have been released from the vigilance of evading predators and seeking sustenance, permitting our imagination to gambol and explore, to dream while awake, to share visions of God. Art signals our freedom. It exists because we’ve won the evolutionary war.”
― Michael Finkel, The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession

“It only takes one desperate generation to change history—even erase it.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“Libraries level the playing field. They’re free and open to the public. All are welcome. Our doors are open. Come in and learn to become your best self. Follow your dreams and reach your true potential. Let your reach exceed your grasp. Whatever book you want to read, it’s free on the honor system. It’s hard to imagine anywhere else in our society so devoted to the concept of everyone being completely equal.”
― James Patterson, The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading