A reading culture

One of the good things of UK that I've noticed over the past couple of months is the willingness and zeal to read.  In a way the sense of reading and gaining information is very much part of the culture.  Perhaps the presence of community libraries in most city centres has much do with this or at least reflects this.  I'm told that not all cities have these common libraries, but most do.  These libraries are places of social gathering and sharing of knowledge.  Of course, in today's internet era, these may seem a bit obsolete, but imagine their value and worth about 50 years ago.  For any person interested in reading and learning, these libraries provided an excellent opportunity to get information and knowledge.  In earlier days when school was all most could afford or in the absence of universities, these libraries became centres of learning.