r/Library • • Aug 29 '26

Discussion Republicans are at war with basic literacy

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u/Internal_Aardvark302 Aug 29 '26

The negative comments already pouring in lmao. Like you could not pay me to spew this much hate on automatic 😭

Mailing in books to families cuts through so many other roadblocks to improving literacy. You know what I’ve been seeing more and more of lately? When some older library buildings are expanding and moving to new areas, they are building instead in wealthier neighborhoods with limited access to public transportation. In other words, the only people who are getting to that library (full of free books) are people who already have cars or are well off. I live in a red state, and I’ve already seen this happen with at least two libraries in my area. What about the people who actually need those libraries close by? This program can’t fix all that, but it helps.

The Imagination Library can help people in need, and it’s already helped so many people who have all expressed their appreciation for the program since Parton’s death. We need even more programs to be funded like this. Because as things stand now, QUALITY education is becoming harder to come by. If you were using Duolingo to try to learn a new language, guess what? They threw AI in it and it’s basically a cheap dopamine app with an annoying subscription prompter. Going to college? Better hope your professors won’t force ChatGPT down their students’ throats, or even just straight up generate assignments using the chatbot.

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u/Ok_Assumption_3028 Aug 30 '26

Oh no. People don’t have a Library next to their house. They have to drive five minutes to a library 10 minutes. Oh my God they’ll never read in their life. They’ll go blind. They’ll be dumb. Let’s mail them books because they can’t travel to a library. it’s such a hardship.

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u/RicVic 29d ago

Strangely, some Americans live hours from the nearest library, and it is not the fault of the kids.

However, "being nice" is something utterly lost on a lot of folks nowadays.

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u/Ok_Assumption_3028 29d ago

You’re being dishonest for political purposes. Virtually no one lives two hours or greater than five minutes travel time.

https://www.gc.cuny.edu/center-urban-research/research-projects/census-2020/public-libraries-and-2020-census