Japanese illustrator Satoshi Hashimoto has illustrated a feature for GLOBE, a twice-monthly section of Japan's leading newspaper, The Asahi Shimbun, delivering in-depth coverage of international affairs and global issues.
Titled Libraries Under Fire, this edition examines the increasingly contentious role of libraries in society, devoting considerable attention to the United States, where access to books has become a significant political battleground.
The feature explores the growing movement to remove or restrict books from public and school libraries in states where challenges have targeted titles addressing race, gender and LGBTQ+ identities.
It also looks at states taking the opposite approach, introducing legislation to protect access to books and prevent censorship. Through interviews with librarians, educators, campaigners and local communities, the article considers the wider implications of these disputes for freedom of expression, education and the public's right to knowledge.
The Changing Role of Libraries
In an age when information is available almost instantly through search engines, digital archives and online publications, the role of the public library might seem less obvious than it once did.
Yet libraries remain important precisely because access to information is not simply a question of availability. They provide trusted resources, opportunities for independent learning and, perhaps most importantly, a shared public space in which knowledge is accessible regardless of background or financial means.
Research published in Communication Research and Practice by Sharon Strover, Public Libraries and 21st Century Digital Equity Goals, examines how libraries have adapted to the migration of information online, expanding their services to address digital exclusion and provide access to technology.
Rather than being displaced by the internet, libraries have increasingly become part of the infrastructure that enables people to participate in the digital world.
A Pew Research Center study similarly explored how public libraries have evolved from traditional repositories of books into places providing access to computers, the internet and digital resources. Its findings highlighted the importance people placed on libraries offering free access to technology alongside conventional book lending.
This role is particularly significant for those who might otherwise be excluded from the digital economy.
A 2026 research paper from Northumbria University, Digital Inclusion in Later Life: The Role of Libraries in Helping Older People Thrive in a Digital World, examines how libraries support older people through digital skills training, access to equipment and assistance in navigating an increasingly online society.
Beyond their collections of books, contemporary libraries serve as community centres, educational resources and places of connection.
They offer access to technology, research facilities, children's programmes and digital resources, while continuing to provide something that the online world rarely replicates: a quiet, inclusive environment dedicated to reading, discovery and reflection.
The debate explored in Libraries Under Fire therefore reaches far beyond the question of which books belong on a shelf. It raises fundamental questions about who controls access to information, whose histories and perspectives are represented, and whether the freedom to read and learn can be taken for granted.
Satoshi's illustrations bring these complex issues into focus, exploring the library as both a place of shared discovery and a space increasingly caught up in political and cultural conflict.
When was the last time you stepped into a public library? and how was the experience?
