Books defeat terrorism, according to girl shot by Taliban

Books defeat terrorism, Malala Yousafzai says in opening Europe’s biggest library.

The Globe and Mail

In an era when reading just about anything on paper seems almost archaic, Birmingham is making a big bet on the printed word.

On Tuesday, this industrial city of one million people, where the recession still bites and jobs are hard to find, opened a $300-million public library. At 31,000 square metres, it is believed to be the largest library in Europe and city officials hope the facility’s unique blend of education, information and entertainment will reinvigorate the battered downtown core and reshape how people view libraries.

But there were few critics at Tuesday’s opening ceremonies, which featured bands, politicians and a speech by one of the city’s best-known residents: Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who was shot by the Taliban last year while on her way to school, came to Birmingham for medical treatment and is now living there with her family. Ms. Yousafzai spoke passionately about the importance of reading and libraries. “A world without books is like a body without a soul,” she told the crowd. “A city without books, and a city without libraries, is like a grave yard.”