187 5dbd5fca-ccb6-49a1-967d-cb831b2a5efa Free Libraries For Every Soul: Dreaming of the Online Library Aideen Doran calibre (4.11.1) [https://calibre-ebook.com] 2014-03-08T00:00:00+00:00 <div> <p>It seems to be an unarguable fact that libraries are a public good if not a moral standard of a modern, civilised society. They are the physical and societal manifestation of a commonly held principle that it is in society’s best interests for information to flow freely, and there are very few voices that would publically dispute this point. However, over the past decade the fate of public libraries (in the western world at least) has been on a downward trajectory, threatened on all sides by political, economic and social factors. Previously held standards of access and preservation are under considerable threat, in some cases a very real threat of destruction and coercion, actual libricide not restricted to war torn countries or fundamentalist regimes.</p></div> Samizdat eng politicisingpiracy