Show your support for public libraries and the essential role they play in a democracy by wearing this handsome, well-made tote. Buy one for yourself and consider buying another for a librarian at your local library or your child’s school.

At a generous 18" x 14.5", it’s roomy enough for all the books you schlep home from the library. It’s made in the USA, by a company that has been making eco-friendly, reusable cotton canvas tote bags for thirty years. 

Benjamin Franklin was the driving force behind the country’s first libraries, institutions he knew were crucial to maintaining and strengthening a democracy. He founded the first public library in the US in 1786 to provide all citizens with equal access to information.

"Carla Hayden, who was sworn in as the 14th librarian of Congress in 2016, calls the idea that anyone can tap into the knowledge contained in books a ‘great equalizer and unifier.’ But although libraries offer information, Hayden adds, they do not interpret it: There may be a book on a shelf arguing one thing, and a book with an opposing idea next to it. ‘The books battle it out,’ Hayden says, and readers form their own opinions. She calls the process ‘democracy in action.’”—The Pew Charitable Trust.