“Libraries are not made; they grow. Good as it is to inherit a library, it is better to collect one.”

—  Augustine Birrell

Variant: Good as it is to inherit a library, it is better to collect one.

Last update Sept. 5, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Libraries are not made; they grow. Good as it is to inherit a library, it is better to collect one." by Augustine Birrell?
Augustine Birrell photo
Augustine Birrell11
British politician 1850–1933

Related quotes

John Donne photo

“Death is an ascension to a better library.”

John Donne (1572–1631) English poet

“Libraries will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no libraries.”

Anne Herbert (writer) (1952) American journalist

"The Next Whole Earth Catalog", (1980), p 331. http://lists.webjunction.org/wjlists/publib/2001-February/035270.html (Derived from the Gilbert Shelton quote, "Dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope."

Jo Walton photo

“Libraries really are wonderful. They're better than bookshops, even. I mean bookshops make a profit on selling you books, but libraries just sit there lending you books quietly out of the goodness of their hearts.”

Jo Walton book Among Others

Source: Among Others

Mark Twain photo

“Just the omission of Jane Austen's books alone would make a fairly good library out of a library that hadn't a book in it.”

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American author and humorist

Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar, Ch. LIX
Following the Equator (1897)

“What better place to kill time than a library?”

Diane Setterfield book The Thirteenth Tale

Source: The Thirteenth Tale

Connie Willis photo

“One of the nastier trends in library management in recent years is the notion that libraries should be 'responsive to their patrons'.”

Connie Willis (1945) American science fiction writer

Temple Grandin photo

“[T]he only place on earth where immortality is provided is in libraries. This is the collective memory of humanity.”

Temple Grandin (1947) USA-american doctor of animal science, author, and autism activist

Source: Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism

Stewart Brand photo

“A library doesn't need windows. A library is a window.”

Stewart Brand (1938) American writer

Source: How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built

Judith Krug photo

“It's a public library. If you don't like the book, magazine, CD-ROM or film, put it down and pick up something else. Libraries provide choice. Our responsibility is to have in our collection a broad range of ideas and information.”

Judith Krug (1940–2009) librarian and freedom of speech proponent

" Oak Lawn Library Vows to Keep Playboy on Shelf http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2005-06-23/news/0506230234_1_library-board-president-library-officials-magazine" by Jo Napolitano, Chicago Tribune (June 23, 2005)

Related topics