Why Libraries Matter

“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.”

— Jorge Luis Borges

I want to reflect on what libraries have meant to me, both professionally and personally. This isn’t an argument. It’s simply an acknowledgment of how central they’ve been throughout my life.

On May 19, voters in Eugene will see Measure 20‑381 on the special election ballot. The measure would renew and modestly increase the existing local option levy, from 15 to 19 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, to help maintain hours, services, and staffing across the three Eugene Public Library branches.

I grew up in Vancouver, B.C., and my connection to libraries began early. Many Saturday afternoons found me at my local branch, wandering the stacks and pulling down books on whatever caught my attention that week — astronomy, architecture, trains, history, anything at all. It was the first place where I felt free to follow my curiosity without anyone nudging me toward or away from anything. That freedom mattered more than I understood at the time.

When I arrived at the University of Oregon, that pull toward libraries had already taken hold. I gravitated to design studios focused on libraries as the design problem and stayed with them longer than the syllabus required. They felt right to me. They were buildings with a clear civic purpose, open to anyone who walked through the door.

Years later, I had the chance to help shape Eugene’s main branch. The project remains one of the most meaningful of my career, not because of its visibility, but because of what it represents. It serves as a civic anchor that belongs to everyone. A place where a child discovering books and a retiree researching family history stand on equal footing. A place that doesn’t sort people by income or background. A place that says: Come in. This is for you.

People often call libraries “third places,” but they’re more than that. They’re also part of the quiet infrastructure of democracy: repositories of shared thought, custodians of collective memory, and level ground where ideas circulate freely. A well‑designed library gives every visitor space, light, and the assurance that they belong there. That belief is architectural, but it’s also civic.

Across the city, the Eugene Public Library system carries out steady, valuable work on behalf of the community. It connects people, resources, and ideas. After decades in and around civic architecture, I’ve learned how rare it is to see a system that works this well.

As the May 19 election approaches, I'm thinking less about ballot language and more about gratitude — for the people who keep our libraries running, for the generations who built and supported them, and for the simple idea that knowledge should be freely available to everyone.

Libraries don’t ask for much. On May 19, Eugene’s libraries are asking for our continued support.

To learn more about Measure 20‑381, visit Yes for the Eugene Public Library.