Expeditions: Fortified Borders and Libraries

I’m in an ancient fortress in the mountains overlooking Salzburgh, Austria. Places like this were necessary to defend against invaders and competing neighbors. To keep what was yours you needed to lock it away behind fortified borders.

As nation states evolved, trade and commerce became increasingly important. To thrive was to open up borders and form a sort of protection by mutual benefit. In essence connections became stronger than fortress walls.

In our libraries over the centuries we have also built up many a fortification in architecture, policy, and language. It’s time to realize we don’t need to protect ourselves from our communities but forge strong ties and loose porous borders. So that someday we can thrive and grow beyond our walls.

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