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The public libraries of Columbia need to situate themselves as places for inclusion, social cohesion, construction of citizenship, and local memory as part of the post-conflict peace process. Colombia's leaders and institutions, including libraries, have an obligation to go beyond the laws and regulations to achieve the vision of the future that has emerged from the negotiations in Havana, Cuba. There are actions that can be undertaken by libraries to promote social transformation at this historic time. Libraries are territories of peace, where librarians can undertake initiatives that build on citizens' dreams of a prosperous future.

Jeffrey Miron


This article appeared on Substack on July 31, 2023.
A recent front in the culture wars is public libraries, such as in Front Royal, Virginia, where
a handful of residents ha[s] begun demanding the removal of certain books in the children's section of Warren County's only public library. Most of the titles involved LGBTQ+ themes.

In Libertarian Land, such conflicts do not arise, since public libraries do not exist.
Despite the word "public," libraries are not a "public good" that private markets might undersupply.
The textbook public good is national defense. If any private group mounts an army that stands ready to defend the country, others will free ride. This makes it hard for the provider to finance its efforts and therefore discourages private provision.
No such issue exists for books; private provision is bountiful. People cannot free ride on book purchases by others.
The crucial benefit of leaving "libraries" to the marketplace is that no one's tax dollars support the provision of particular books. If Amazon sells books that some people do not want their children to read, these people do not buy such books. Thus the polarization that results from public libraries is absent.
Advocates will respond that public libraries provide free access to books and thus benefit low‐​income families. That is mainly false; public libraries typically locate in middle‐​class neighborhoods and serve middle‐​income families.
Fans of public provision might also argue that such libraries provide more than free access to books: story time, community events, author book signings, and the like. Private book stores, however, can do and provide these services if demand exists, perhaps because it brings in paying customers.

This study was commissioned by The World Bank as part of the research to feed into the development of the Government of Nepal's national transport management strategy. The overall strategy vision is 'to develop safe, efficient and environmentally friendly transport'. Under the second pillar of the draft strategy which refers to 'management of road transport', there is specific reference to the particular needs of women in transport. The study took place between October and December, 2013 and comprised a review of secondary data and the collection of primary data via a questionnaire survey of public transport users in the Kathmandu valley, qualitative conversations and focus group discussions with users and non-users of public transport as well as key informant interviews with transport operators, police and relevant Government department staff and supplemented by participant observation. The questionnaire survey was carried out with 470 people (60 percent women) and qualitative conversations involved a further 165 (58 percent women). The questionnaire was administered 'in situ' as people were commuting on public transport at different times of the day and on different transport routes in and around the city.