The dust and odour of ancient libraries, the gloom of those crypts of literature, have… all the charm of freshest images and freshest poetry. – Alexandre Vinet (1797–1847)

A library is but the souls burying ground. It is a land of shadows. – Henry Ward Beecher

Libraries and books are a big part of my life. Like a lot of inwardly drawn young people, I spent a lot of time in libraries…. There were no parents there, no one I knew, and the solitude was a great relief. – Henry Rollins, “Empowerment Through Libraries,” November 2013, LAWeekly [Swoon!