While on the subject of burning books, I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physical strength, who, all over this country, have staunchly resisted anti-democratic bullies who have tried to remove certain books from their shelves, and destroyed records rather than have to reveal to thought police the names of persons who have checked out those titles. So the America I loved still exists, if not in the White House, the Supreme Court, the Senate, the House of Representatives, or the media. The America I loved still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.

— Kurt Vonnegut on Libraries

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "While on the subject of burning books, I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physical strength, who, all over this country, have staunchly resisted anti-democratic bullies who have tried to remove certain books from their shelves, and destroyed records rather than have to reveal to thought police the names of persons who have checked out those titles. So the America I loved still exists, if not in the White House, the Supreme Court, the Senate, the House of Representatives, or the media. The America I loved still exists at the front desks of our public libraries." in the context of "Kurt Vonnegut, 2005, A Man Without a Country, 102-103 http://books.google.com/books?id=YbsDpgcQ9jYC&pg=PT4&dq=The+America+I+loved+still+exists+at+the+front+desks+of+our+public+libraries&sig=ACfU3U0GcAVOmafNS1_Y30bNeMqT6Y5AiQ#PPT4,M1." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Libraries" (Quotes: listed alphabetically by author, U-V) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Kurt Vonnegut

About Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (11 November 1922 – 11 April 2007) was an American novelist known for works blending satire, black comedy, and science fiction.