This is why libraries are amazing - they are objectively funded so that “free” really means “so essential it’s funded for you.” In the case of vulnerable populations that are driven to free services (like the socioeconomically disadvantaged or especially kids), it relieves the pressure to engage in selling one’s self to receive some “free” service. This was more widely accepted in the past when services like NPR and PBS were publicly funded. You know, when we cared about education.
