The Public Library: The City’s Economic Incubator

HISTORICAL ROLE OF LIBRARIES.

Libraries have always served as repositories for a wide range of knowledge. From the Greeks of Socrates and Egyptians with their Royal [Ancient] Library of Alexandria come two central ideas: knowledge is worth collecting and retaining; and knowledge is unbound as to subject or discipline. The concept of libraries has a strong early association with museums and research. These two ideas and associations can serve well the economic development of small cities and towns in the 21st century.