10 ms·

Ironically we go to the library much less now that its easy to borrow ebooks with kindle and reading apps. overdrive is great. I was starting to see a future wi

by rb808 10y ago

Ironically we go to the library much less now that its easy to borrow ebooks with kindle and reading apps. overdrive is great. I was starting to see a future without libraries.

mattnewton 10y ago
People with large book collections never _needed_ the library, it was always the people who had no budget from books that benefited the most. I think that will continue to be the case, maybe more so if they take on the mantle of internet access.
SomeStupidPoint 10y ago
The libraries here seem to have transitioned heavily to services and tech. The computers have not only internet, but MS Office and Adobe products, and I see everything from playing games and social media to job hunting and learning being done on them. (There's even a special bank of computers with resources for job hunting downtown.) Pretty much every day, the library holds some kind of starting a business, learning to use tech, ESL, or other kind of class. Then there's the cultural shows (opera, movies, story readings) and free tax prep services at the central branch downtown. The library also provides desks to work at, which are used by students (HS and college), professionals, the homeless, etc. The value of a workspace in the city is itself fairly large. I made frequent use of it when working as a freelancer. Cheaper than coworking space, cafe on site, reliable internet, etc. And of course, the library is still a library. Their ebook collection is nowhere near the size and scope of their physical book collection. Not just the normal stuff of modern books, but fairly large archives of things like financial reports, magazine editions, etc stretching back nearly 100 years (longer in a few cases), a rare book collection, specialty archives, a collection of official government documents, and probably more Im forgetting. That isn't stuff I need every day, most of my borrowing is (or could be) ebook/audiobook, but I think the city would be poorer without a publicly owned archive of history, even if there were digital copies available. There's something about reading a book older than your great grandparents that digital copies don't replace.
- ocdtrekkie 10y ago
  People have a hard time realizing libraries are so much more than books these days. I'm a former library employee, and it was always interesting seeing how the library adapted to interests and needs of the community. My local library now has as big of a movie rental library (for free!) as any Blockbuster back in the day, has 3D printers available for use, and office areas meant for use by startups needing some space to work.
  - throwaway6556 10y ago
    Up to and including becoming a fucking nursery. Complete with crying and singing kids for Christ sake. I get it, nurseries are expensive and you may not have someone to dump the kids to (or money for Netflix). Shouldn't nurseries be subsidised instead?
    - germinalphrase 10y ago
      Yea - they probably should be. Discussing the cost of day care with friends it amounts nearly an additional mortgage payment every month.
      - eric_the_read 10y ago
        In a surprisingly large number of families where one family member earns a lot and the other much less, the cost of daycare can match or even occasionally outstrip the money brought into the family by the lower-wage earner. My wife recently started working at an early learning center, and during the summer, her salary is nearly entirely devoted to paying for the day camp for our school-age kids. If she had wanted to work full-time before they had started school, we'd most likely have been in the red.
    - massysett 10y ago
      They are. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ
  - SomeStupidPoint 10y ago
cilea 10y ago
Here, in Toronto, you can borrow ebooks from the public library without physically being at the library. You will not find the latest edition but it is suffice for most patrons. The Reference Library at downtown is decent (good atmosphere) but WiFi is intermittent at times.
- maxxxxx 10y ago
  In LA you can also borrow Kindle books through the library. The only drawback is that you sometimes have to wait a few weeks.
  - stinkytaco 10y ago
    Uggg... the waiting lists. It drives me crazy that libraries actually pay more for ebooks than for physical books. Like, a lot more.
loeg 10y ago
I get my ebooks (incl. overdrive) via my library's access.
jff 10y ago
On paper, Overdrive is everything I want, but every time I try to use the damn Android app it makes me want to just drive to the library instead. How many times should I need to enter my library card # to check out an ebook?
- stinkytaco 10y ago
  Just a heads up, but the most recent update really helped with that. It keeps you logged in longer. That was a major frustration, I think I probably had about 50 comments on it.

by rb808 10y ago

Ironically we go to the library much less now that its easy to borrow ebooks with kindle and reading apps. overdrive is great. I was starting to see a future without libraries.

mattnewton 10y ago

People with large book collections never _needed_ the library, it was always the people who had no budget from books that benefited the most. I think that will continue to be the case, maybe more so if they take on the mantle of internet access.

SomeStupidPoint 10y ago

The libraries here seem to have transitioned heavily to services and tech. The computers have not only internet, but MS Office and Adobe products, and I see everything from playing games and social media to job hunting and learning being done on them. (There's even a special bank of computers with resources for job hunting downtown.) Pretty much every day, the library holds some kind of starting a business, learning to use tech, ESL, or other kind of class. Then there's the cultural shows (opera, movies, story readings) and free tax prep services at the central branch downtown. The library also provides desks to work at, which are used by students (HS and college), professionals, the homeless, etc. The value of a workspace in the city is itself fairly large. I made frequent use of it when working as a freelancer. Cheaper than coworking space, cafe on site, reliable internet, etc. And of course, the library is still a library. Their ebook collection is nowhere near the size and scope of their physical book collection. Not just the normal stuff of modern books, but fairly large archives of things like financial reports, magazine editions, etc stretching back nearly 100 years (longer in a few cases), a rare book collection, specialty archives, a collection of official government documents, and probably more Im forgetting. That isn't stuff I need every day, most of my borrowing is (or could be) ebook/audiobook, but I think the city would be poorer without a publicly owned archive of history, even if there were digital copies available. There's something about reading a book older than your great grandparents that digital copies don't replace.

ocdtrekkie 10y ago
People have a hard time realizing libraries are so much more than books these days. I'm a former library employee, and it was always interesting seeing how the library adapted to interests and needs of the community. My local library now has as big of a movie rental library (for free!) as any Blockbuster back in the day, has 3D printers available for use, and office areas meant for use by startups needing some space to work.
- throwaway6556 10y ago
  Up to and including becoming a fucking nursery. Complete with crying and singing kids for Christ sake. I get it, nurseries are expensive and you may not have someone to dump the kids to (or money for Netflix). Shouldn't nurseries be subsidised instead?
  - germinalphrase 10y ago
    Yea - they probably should be. Discussing the cost of day care with friends it amounts nearly an additional mortgage payment every month.
    - eric_the_read 10y ago
      In a surprisingly large number of families where one family member earns a lot and the other much less, the cost of daycare can match or even occasionally outstrip the money brought into the family by the lower-wage earner. My wife recently started working at an early learning center, and during the summer, her salary is nearly entirely devoted to paying for the day camp for our school-age kids. If she had wanted to work full-time before they had started school, we'd most likely have been in the red.
  - massysett 10y ago
    They are. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ
- SomeStupidPoint 10y ago

cilea 10y ago

Here, in Toronto, you can borrow ebooks from the public library without physically being at the library. You will not find the latest edition but it is suffice for most patrons. The Reference Library at downtown is decent (good atmosphere) but WiFi is intermittent at times.

maxxxxx 10y ago
In LA you can also borrow Kindle books through the library. The only drawback is that you sometimes have to wait a few weeks.
- stinkytaco 10y ago
  Uggg... the waiting lists. It drives me crazy that libraries actually pay more for ebooks than for physical books. Like, a lot more.

loeg 10y ago

I get my ebooks (incl. overdrive) via my library's access.

jff 10y ago

On paper, Overdrive is everything I want, but every time I try to use the damn Android app it makes me want to just drive to the library instead. How many times should I need to enter my library card # to check out an ebook?

stinkytaco 10y ago
Just a heads up, but the most recent update really helped with that. It keeps you logged in longer. That was a major frustration, I think I probably had about 50 comments on it.