Say what you will about San Francisco's government spending habits — and we say plenty — but the public library system remains one of the few institutions in this city that consistently delivers value for taxpayer dollars. Case in point: the Kim Shuck Poem Jam at the SF Main Library.

For those unfamiliar, Kim Shuck was San Francisco's seventh Poet Laureate, a Cherokee and Polish-descent writer whose work drew deeply from her roots in the city and her Indigenous heritage. She passed away in 2022, but her legacy in the local literary scene runs deep. The Poem Jam is exactly the kind of grassroots cultural programming that makes a library more than just a building with free Wi-Fi and questionable bathroom situations.

Here's the thing: events like this cost the city next to nothing. The Main Library already exists. The staff is already there. The lights are already on. A poetry event honoring a beloved local figure is about as efficient a use of public space as you'll find in a city that routinely spends six figures studying why a single bus stop should be moved three feet to the left.

We talk a lot in this space about fiscal responsibility and government accountability, and rightly so. But it's worth acknowledging when a public institution actually does what it's supposed to do — serve the community, preserve culture, and bring people together without lighting a pile of money on fire in the process.

San Francisco's cultural identity is one of its genuine assets, and events like the Kim Shuck Poem Jam keep that identity alive without requiring a ballot measure, a committee, or a $2 million consulting contract. Just a library, some poems, and a room full of people who care.

More of this, please. Less of everything else.