Central Library provides many key services that its patrons might not otherwise receive. Moreover, those services are free and available to everyone. Orlean explores how, as a result of providing not only free books to borrow but also services, such as access to the Internet, adult education classes, ESL courses, and workshops on consent for teens, the library is an indispensable community resource. It provides information that many patrons wouldn’t get in public schools and training that one could usually only obtain for a fee.

The library is also a social equalizer. It is the only place outside of a homeless shelter where the homeless are welcomed. There, they sit beside people from all social and economic strata and enjoy access to the same resources. In this way, libraries represent some of the most appealing ideas about democracy—that is, that everyone should have equal access to education and equal opportunity to achieve self-improvement. Despite the inequalities in public education and the elusiveness of higher education for those who don’t have high incomes, the library exists to provide resources when other institutions fail to do so.