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| Postcard - Carnegie Library. Zumbrota, Minn. |
The old library now contains something called "Crossings" [City of Zumbrota web site], which appears to be a gift shop or at center. The new library looks like a huge retro brick gas station, with a big place for a clock over the door that no-one ever added.
I have read about how libertarian writer Ayn Rand hated public libraries, but when I search for this, all I can find is records of programs given inside public libraries concerning Ayn Rand and her work. If indeed Objectivists and Ayn Rand dislike public libraries, then this is somewhat ironic. Click here [objectivismonline.com] for one discussion among Objectivists about public libraries The Zumbrota public library does indeed carry Ayn Rand's books on its shelves.
Zumbrota itself is named after the River Zumbro, which its itself a corruption of a French name meaning River of Embarassment.
3 comments:
The most interesting comments I found by following your Objectivist link were the ones insisting that INFORMATION SHOULD NEVER BE FREE! I can see the idealogue standing on his podium and shaking his fist. The statement of principle is undermined, however, if he is accessing the site in question, as I did, for free.
Another thought occurred to me for the first time: isn't it awful, for an Objectivist point of view, that human beings receive the gift of life without having done a single thing to earn it? Outrageous!
Interesting point, PJ. There's a lot of altruism we all receive.
It took me awhile to get 'Zumbro'
from Riviere des Embarras, but I can see it is an anglicization of
the French pronounciation. Like the Couderay R. in WI was originally Courte O'Reilles. The
French voyageurs were ubiquitous
in the upper midwest for a long time: we note the Embarrass Rivers
in N. MN and WI, as well as the
Embarras R. in Illinois and lberta, which are still pronouced
'am-braw'. The early French were not embarrassed, but rather perplexed by rivers that had
difficult navigation due to tree
and snag blockage. (We tipped a
canoe over in the Flambeau one time and were very 'am-brawed'.)
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