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The New Coffee Room

  1. TNCR
  2. General Discussion
  3. Public Libraries ...

Public Libraries ...

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  • KlausK Offline
    KlausK Offline
    Klaus
    wrote on last edited by
    #8

    I love physical books and libraries, and I'm sad to see them go, but their time is over.

    Aqua LetiferA 1 Reply Last reply
    • JollyJ Offline
      JollyJ Offline
      Jolly
      wrote on last edited by
      #9

      Dunno.

      Nothing like holding a book in your hand.

      “Cry havoc and let slip the DOGE of war!”

      Those who cheered as J-6 American prisoners were locked in solitary for 18 months without trial, now suddenly fight tooth and nail for foreign terrorists’ "due process". — Buck Sexton

      1 Reply Last reply
      • jon-nycJ Offline
        jon-nycJ Offline
        jon-nyc
        wrote on last edited by
        #10

        I’m sure back in the sixth century or so there were old timers who wouldn’t let go of their scrolls and adopt the new-fangled codex, too.

        "You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from."
        -Cormac McCarthy

        1 Reply Last reply
        • KlausK Klaus

          I love physical books and libraries, and I'm sad to see them go, but their time is over.

          Aqua LetiferA Offline
          Aqua LetiferA Offline
          Aqua Letifer
          wrote on last edited by
          #11

          @Klaus said in Public Libraries ...:

          I love physical books and libraries, and I'm sad to see them go, but their time is over.

          A buddy of mine has a degree in LIS. Are you sure you know everything that libraries do, or are you basing your assessment only on what you see from the street?

          Please love yourself.

          KlausK 1 Reply Last reply
          • CopperC Offline
            CopperC Offline
            Copper
            wrote on last edited by
            #12

            Homeless shelters for example.

            The archives are important, analog and digital.

            1 Reply Last reply
            • Aqua LetiferA Aqua Letifer

              @Klaus said in Public Libraries ...:

              I love physical books and libraries, and I'm sad to see them go, but their time is over.

              A buddy of mine has a degree in LIS. Are you sure you know everything that libraries do, or are you basing your assessment only on what you see from the street?

              KlausK Offline
              KlausK Offline
              Klaus
              wrote on last edited by
              #13

              @Aqua-Letifer said in Public Libraries ...:

              @Klaus said in Public Libraries ...:

              I love physical books and libraries, and I'm sad to see them go, but their time is over.

              A buddy of mine has a degree in LIS. Are you sure you know everything that libraries do, or are you basing your assessment only on what you see from the street?

              I don't need to know everything that libraries do. It is sufficient to observe how library after library is downsized a couple of times and then finally closed for good. My department's research library has just been stripped of any personell, and these days it is almost exclusively used as a work room for students who don't give a shit about the books in it.

              Aqua LetiferA 1 Reply Last reply
              • KlausK Klaus

                @Aqua-Letifer said in Public Libraries ...:

                @Klaus said in Public Libraries ...:

                I love physical books and libraries, and I'm sad to see them go, but their time is over.

                A buddy of mine has a degree in LIS. Are you sure you know everything that libraries do, or are you basing your assessment only on what you see from the street?

                I don't need to know everything that libraries do. It is sufficient to observe how library after library is downsized a couple of times and then finally closed for good. My department's research library has just been stripped of any personell, and these days it is almost exclusively used as a work room for students who don't give a shit about the books in it.

                Aqua LetiferA Offline
                Aqua LetiferA Offline
                Aqua Letifer
                wrote on last edited by
                #14

                @Klaus said in Public Libraries ...:

                @Aqua-Letifer said in Public Libraries ...:

                @Klaus said in Public Libraries ...:

                I love physical books and libraries, and I'm sad to see them go, but their time is over.

                A buddy of mine has a degree in LIS. Are you sure you know everything that libraries do, or are you basing your assessment only on what you see from the street?

                I don't need to know everything that libraries do. It is sufficient to observe how library after library is downsized a couple of times and then finally closed for good. My department's research library has just been stripped of any personell, and these days it is almost exclusively used as a work room for students who don't give a shit about the books in it.

                The number of public libraries in America has stayed relatively the same since '96. In fact there are more today than in '96.

                Please love yourself.

                1 Reply Last reply
                • bachophileB Offline
                  bachophileB Offline
                  bachophile
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #15

                  My hospital has a library. When I first started out we would read articles in actual journals. And photocopy reams of pages.

                  Now, it’s the most useless building in the institution. No one, I mean no one reads real paper journals.
                  Its only use is a quiet space for residents to study for exams. Which is important in of itself but it’s not really used as a repository of information.

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  • AxtremusA Axtremus

                    How essential are public libraries to the public these days?

                    The last time I went to a library, I was there to donate some 3D printing supplies that I no longer needed. I try to think if there are still many "low income" folks who would rely on the public libraries for essential functions, even that is shrinking once you subsidize their Internet access some other ways. I can imagine young parents occasionally taking their young children to the public library for story time, though that's more like a "nice to have" rather than an essential function.

                    When did you last visited a public library, and why?

                    89th8 Offline
                    89th8 Offline
                    89th
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #16

                    @Axtremus said in Public Libraries ...:

                    When did you last visited a public library, and why?

                    About a month ago. We take the kids about once a month to return ~15 books and check out another ~15.

                    You should also know there are many, many books in the kids section that are focused on lesbian, gay, and trans subjects. Like, a surprising amount.

                    AxtremusA 1 Reply Last reply
                    • 89th8 89th

                      @Axtremus said in Public Libraries ...:

                      When did you last visited a public library, and why?

                      About a month ago. We take the kids about once a month to return ~15 books and check out another ~15.

                      You should also know there are many, many books in the kids section that are focused on lesbian, gay, and trans subjects. Like, a surprising amount.

                      AxtremusA Away
                      AxtremusA Away
                      Axtremus
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #17

                      @89th said in Public Libraries ...:

                      You should also know there are many, many books in the kids section that are focused on lesbian, gay, and trans subjects. Like, a surprising amount.

                      Yeah, recently read a news article about a town voting to defund its only public library because the staff refused to remove LGBTQ titles from the library:
                      https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/08/26/patmos-library-jamestown-close-lgbt-book-ban/7906130001/

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