In an age of apparent (0) PROSPERITY (PROSPER) for screens and subscription services, the persistence of the public library as a civic institution is easily overlooked. Many assumed that the 1DIGITAL of information would quietly render such places redundant, and yet the opposite has, on the whole, occurred: demand for free 2ACCESS to books, study space and reliable internet has climbed rather than fallen. Chronically 3FUND though most branches are, they remain among the few indoor public spaces that impose no expectation of purchase, and hard-pressed 4MUNICIPAL continue to defend them against successive waves of cuts. Librarians themselves have proved quietly 5RESOURCE, transforming their institutions into something closer to 6COMMUNITY hubs: hosting literacy programmes, assisting benefit claimants with digital paperwork, and offering 7DEMOCRACY access to the kind of research tools that universities paywall. For neighbourhoods where reliable broadband and quiet corners are far from universal, the public library has emerged, almost against expectation, as 8REPLACE.