Agreed, but the author is not highlighting the lack of public spaces in general, but specifically a lack of public spaces where there isn’t an expectation to spend money.

In my experience, the expectation to spend is greater at indoor spaces than outdoor, so with this distinction, I agree with the author. If taken as originally written, I would think the number of outdoor public spaces far outweigh the number of libraries in any community, but YMMV.

I would imagine the author is referring to indoor public spaces, to which I wholeheartedly agree.

Check out Wirecutter. It’s been my go-to site for most purchases outside my wheelhouse for years. I like how they break down their findings, like pros/cons, budget picks, and picks depending on what kind of user you are (take record players, for example: are you interested in the format, but don’t want much fuss? They’ll have suggestions for an all-in-one setup. Or are you an audiophile looking to upgrade specific parts? They’ll cover that as well). They also include advice from experts in the field of whatever they’re reviewing, which I find useful.