Why The Next Big Pop-Culture Wave After Cupcakes Might Be Libraries

A local news story skeptically questioning whether libraries are "necessary." it set off a response from Vanity Fair, and a later counterpunch by Chicago's Public Library Commissioner and from as far away as The Guardian. Call it a hunch, but it seems to me that the thing is in the air that happens right before something -- families with a million kids, cupcakes, wedding coordinators -- suddenly becomes the thing everyone wants to do happy-fuzzy pop-culture stories about. Why? 1) Libraries get in fight. 2) Librarians know stuff. 3) Libraries are green and local. 4) Libraries will give you things for free.