The Surprising Political Power Of Libraries

By Amy McLay Paterson

Håkan Dahlström/flickr

There’s a practicum student at the desk when I arrive for my shift. She’s here for a three-week work term before finishing her Master’s in Library Studies. We chat for a while between serving customers, and then she turns to me: “Did you know that our Health display is all diet books? All of them!” I’ve been working here for two months, but I didn’t know that.