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> quiet is an underappreciated luxury good (and an underappreciated aspect of public libraries); seriously, poverty is so loud.

this is one of the most compassionate things i've read today. thank you

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Agreed, thank you for this. I think we should do more to defend quiet spaces.I work for a library, and much of the emphasis is on creating "collaborative" spaces. Those are important too, and I fully understand the irritation librarians have with the "shhhhh!" meme. But public silent spaces are rare, and may be a truly under appreciated resource by people who have the means to access quite private spaces.

The compassionate part I was talking about was the acknowledgement that kids today don't have the equal opportunities in schools that many claim they do. Environmental context (rich family or not) matters.

"quiet is a luxury good" + "seriously, poverty is so loud"

Having said that, I do agree with your point about the need for quiet spaces.

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