Josh Hanagarne Quotes

#1. An old librarian once said to me, whatever we deal with, coming here is always a visual reward.

Josh Hanagarne

#2. The public library contains multitudes. And each person who visits contains multitudes as well. Each of us is a library of thoughts, memories, experiences, and odors. We adapt to one another to produce the human condition.

Josh Hanagarne

#3. The library has a robust collection of what I call non-cuddly hate lit. This is one of my favorite things about working here: If you believe censorship is poison, here lies paradise.

Josh Hanagarne

#4. To see the value of a library, ignore the adults. Find an inquisitive child who doesn't have an iPhone yet, take them to the library, and tell them that they can learn anything they want there.

Josh Hanagarne

#5. The word 'yes' is just a sound. It's nothing without context. It can signal the end of a life, an exultation after a scored basket or a vanquished foe; it can answer questions or refute them; it's an affirmation.

Josh Hanagarne

#6. At its loftiest, a library's goal is to keep as many minds as possible in the game ...

Josh Hanagarne

#7. A community that doesn't think it needs a library isn't a community for whom a library is irrelevant. It's a community that's ill.

Josh Hanagarne

#8. I smiled at these books every time I saw them on my shelves. In many ways I sill feel like an incomplete person, but at least I had those books; I was more complete than anyone unlucky enough not to have them.

Josh Hanagarne

#9. When I was his age, and even today, when it comes to books and libraries, too much is never enough

Josh Hanagarne

#10. When someone makes a Family Circus reference and everyone on the room laughs, I'm in the wrong room.

Josh Hanagarne

#11. For Orwell, the loss of a life was the loss of a mind was the loss of a world, and the world we inhabit is poorer for each loss, for the contributions that mind could have made.

Josh Hanagarne

#12. You can repent of most sins by making restitution, but you can't bring a dead body back to life, and you can't restore your virginity. We are made in God's image, and God is no fornicator.

Josh Hanagarne

#13. Test everything that can be tested. As soon as you think you know something, that's when you stop questioning it. Understanding kills curiosity. Understanding kills progress.

Josh Hanagarne

#14. A library is a miracle. A place where you can learn just about anything, for free. A place where your mind can come alive.

Josh Hanagarne

#15. I'm rarely at a loss for words outside the library. But within its walls I'm required to form sentences that no logical person should ever have to utter, for instance, You can't sleep on the floor at the library under your blanket.

Josh Hanagarne

#16. Josh, do you know what my favorite thing is? she asked. I mean, my very favorite thing?
I'm not sure.
It's when the whole family comes for a holiday and you kids just sit around and laugh together. You don't have any idea what that feels like for me. There's nothing I look forward to more.

Josh Hanagarne

#17. A mind can be lost without its owner's death. A mind that no longer questions only fulfills the rudimentary aspects of its function.

Josh Hanagarne

#18. From The World's Strongest Librarian who quotes Tom Clancy: The only way to do all the things you'd like to is to read.

Josh Hanagarne

#19. There is a great case to be made for using religion to win arguments, as long as you only debate with other believers.

Josh Hanagarne