Ahern clearly stated her views on the value of public education, beginning in the first volume, second issue, of "Public Libraries": "There is only one solution of all social problems, an increase in intelligence, a gradual education of the people." She further argued that a public library could provide the best source of this education because it "is the broadest of teachers, one may almost say the only free teacher. It is the most liberal of schools; it is the only real people's college." The journal's tag lines also publicized and promoted the valued public libraries: "The Public Library is an Integral Part of Public Education" and "The best reading for the greatest number, at the least cost."