One Library to Rule them All

One invaluable educational resource the world urgently needs is a global online digital library that provides high quality, free and easy access to all the classic books, artworks and major historical documents in the public domain. This would require a relatively small financial investment, but provide an invaluable democratic public service for students, teachers, citizens and oppressed populations everywhere.

This global online digital library would house the inscrutable wealth of human knowledge and art from myriad cultures in one central location, accessible to anyone via cellphone, computer or tablet from anywhere in the world, entirely free of charge. None of the modest digital public libraries currently in existence realizes this potential.

When Nelson Mandela served his 27 years in prison, books helped to free his mind long before his final release. His struggle was not simply against racial discrimination, but against all forms of social apartheid. Unfortunately, there are still countless Robben Island prisons to be torn down. Freeing the minds of those imprisoned would certainly be a start. For one of the many merits of public libraries, please watch this clip from the classic movie “Good Will Hunting”.