“The founding of libraries was like constructing more public granaries, amassing reserves against a spiritual winter which by certain signs, in spite of myself, I see ahead…”

“They establish distinctions and reserves which I cannot apply to myself, for I exist only as a whole; my only claim is to be natural, and the pleasure I feel in an action, I take as a sign that I ought to do it.”

“Public libraries have been a mainstay of my life. They represent an individual's right to acquire knowledge; they are the sinews that bind civilized societies the world over. Without libraries, I would be a pauper, intellectually and spiritually.”

“On my first visit to the public library, I was like a kid at a candy store where all the candy was free.I gorged myself until my tummy ached.”

“I found myself in a sea in which the waves of joy and sorrow were clashing against each other.”

“First paycheck I get, I thought, I'm going to get myself a room near the downtown L.A. Public Library.”