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I live a block away from a public library. It's so close that I can see it right outside my window! And you know what? I have not been to that library ever, an

I live a block away from a public library. It's so close that I can see it right outside my window! And you know what? I have not been to that library ever, and I've lived in this neighborhood for years. Even if you happen to use your library every day now, you probably won't be doing that in twenty years, regardless of whether or not they continue to offer service in your town. Taking a wide view, what else should we expect, now that we have computers in our pockets connected to a far larger and more comprehensive source of knowledge? There are a lot of details and small objections to my point here, to be sure, but the technology that's driving this trend is NOT going away.

anigbrowl 9y ago
Libraries are more than just books on shelves, they're also community centers. I find your your avowedly uninformed dismissiveness quite depressing.
- mixmastamyk 9y ago
  Not to mention books bring a depth and historical perspective largely unavailable on the internet, even though it is technically possible to do so.
felipemnoa 9y ago
I go to the library almost daily. Plenty of people there. More so than before the internet. A big chunk of them go to use the computers there, study, read the newspaper, or just to socialize a bit. A lot of them are there for other activities: story time for children, yoga, computer classes, movie time. It seems to me that libraries are turning into community centers, which is great. Every community needs a library that doubles as a quasi community center.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
gene-h 9y ago
You should probably visit your local library. My local library runs a makerspace, where people can check out equipment, arduinos, and use 3d printers. In addition, our local library cards allow us to bypass paywalls for news sites, scientific journals, and check out e-books online without having the physically visit the library. I would really like to see paywalls go away within twenty years, but I am doubtful that this will happen.
DanBC 9y ago
In the UK (4 years ago) more people got books from the library than bought them new. http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/editorials/leading-article-libraries-can-prosper-if-they-change-7582458.html http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/editorials/leading-artic... > Closing libraries is inevitable, the argument goes, in an era when two out of three British homes have a computer. But that is far from the whole story. While 200 million books are sold every year, more than 310 million are borrowed. The one-in-three homes without a computer are those of the nation's poorer children, many of whom live without even a table at which they can do their homework.
maxharris 9y ago
I see I have three comments here, and I'll just state my main objection to all three of you (felipemnoa, gene-h, anigbrowl): Ok, so when are the libraries/community centers going to turn those awful fluorescent lights off, bring in some comfortable couches and start serving alcohol and coffee? Because if they don't start doing that, there's just no draw for me...
- felipemnoa 9y ago
  Might as well just go and sit at a bar with a computer. The library I go to you can at least bring your own coffee or any other liquids, except probably alcohol :)
  - maxharris 9y ago
    I actually do this :joy:
- metaobject 9y ago
  What is your point? Do you want them to become a revenue generator for the county/state?
- rosser 9y ago
  If it doesn't serve use-cases you're interested in, it shouldn't exist? EDIT: On the other hand, is leasing out space to a commercial coffee stand a revenue stream that libraries — particularly smaller, less well-funded ones — might consider?
maxharris 9y ago
I'd take a hackerspace, a bar, and a coffee shop over a general community center any day. And what if we had nice narrow European-style streets, free of cars, connecting these places together? That would be even more amazing.
- imron 9y ago
  Wait until you have a few children.
Steuard 9y ago
My librarian friends talk a lot these days about the changing roles that libraries play in their communities. There are certainly a lot of people who have less need for them purely as a place to borrow books and look up reference materials. But that's not all that libraries are, and for those and other services libraries are particularly valuable to people who aren't so fortunate. I'm not even just talking about the range of community events that libraries often host: my kindergarten-aged daughter has enjoyed going to our local library for weekend read-along events for years, for instance, and I've hosted a local science outreach event there, and they're the location for a local arts festival every fall, and they're a natural space for a variety of community meetings. Some libraries even run their own maker spaces. But it can be easy for highly educated and/or reasonably well-off people to forget how much of a lifeline a library can be. A lot of librarians I know talk about how library computer services are the only way for some of the poorer people in their communities to hunt for jobs, for example, because they don't have reliable internet access at home. (That's getting better as more and more people do have computers in their pockets, but there's a long way to go.) Kids growing up in families that are struggling financially don't have shelves and shelves of books to learn from at home: a library can do wonders to fill that gap if the family makes a habit of it. And librarians themselves can do wonders to help people sort through the oceans of available information to find the most useful and trustworthy sources: that's their specialized expertise, and it's not becoming less important as we gain increasing access to far larger and more comprehensive sources. Their training can be useful to anyone, but it's especially helpful to be able to turn to a librarian if (e.g.) you haven't gone through a high quality college program that's taught you the basics of that expertise yourself. There's a lot more to say, and yes, libraries are going to need to transform in fascinating ways in the future. But there really does seem to be a role for something akin to libraries in our society. (And, as an aside, you'll rarely find a group of people more fervently dedicated to issues like privacy and freedom of information than librarians. That's valuable, too.)
imron 9y ago
> And you know what? I have not been to that library ever, and I've lived in this neighborhood for years. This is the "I don't have a use for it, so no-one else possibly could either" mentality.

anigbrowl 9y ago

Libraries are more than just books on shelves, they're also community centers. I find your your avowedly uninformed dismissiveness quite depressing.

mixmastamyk 9y ago
Not to mention books bring a depth and historical perspective largely unavailable on the internet, even though it is technically possible to do so.

felipemnoa 9y ago

I go to the library almost daily. Plenty of people there. More so than before the internet. A big chunk of them go to use the computers there, study, read the newspaper, or just to socialize a bit. A lot of them are there for other activities: story time for children, yoga, computer classes, movie time. It seems to me that libraries are turning into community centers, which is great. Every community needs a library that doubles as a quasi community center.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

gene-h 9y ago

You should probably visit your local library. My local library runs a makerspace, where people can check out equipment, arduinos, and use 3d printers. In addition, our local library cards allow us to bypass paywalls for news sites, scientific journals, and check out e-books online without having the physically visit the library. I would really like to see paywalls go away within twenty years, but I am doubtful that this will happen.

DanBC 9y ago

In the UK (4 years ago) more people got books from the library than bought them new. http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/editorials/leading-article-libraries-can-prosper-if-they-change-7582458.html http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/editorials/leading-artic... > Closing libraries is inevitable, the argument goes, in an era when two out of three British homes have a computer. But that is far from the whole story. While 200 million books are sold every year, more than 310 million are borrowed. The one-in-three homes without a computer are those of the nation's poorer children, many of whom live without even a table at which they can do their homework.

maxharris 9y ago

I see I have three comments here, and I'll just state my main objection to all three of you (felipemnoa, gene-h, anigbrowl): Ok, so when are the libraries/community centers going to turn those awful fluorescent lights off, bring in some comfortable couches and start serving alcohol and coffee? Because if they don't start doing that, there's just no draw for me...

felipemnoa 9y ago
Might as well just go and sit at a bar with a computer. The library I go to you can at least bring your own coffee or any other liquids, except probably alcohol :)
- maxharris 9y ago
  I actually do this :joy:
metaobject 9y ago
What is your point? Do you want them to become a revenue generator for the county/state?
rosser 9y ago
If it doesn't serve use-cases you're interested in, it shouldn't exist? EDIT: On the other hand, is leasing out space to a commercial coffee stand a revenue stream that libraries — particularly smaller, less well-funded ones — might consider?

maxharris 9y ago

I'd take a hackerspace, a bar, and a coffee shop over a general community center any day. And what if we had nice narrow European-style streets, free of cars, connecting these places together? That would be even more amazing.

imron 9y ago
Wait until you have a few children.

Steuard 9y ago

My librarian friends talk a lot these days about the changing roles that libraries play in their communities. There are certainly a lot of people who have less need for them purely as a place to borrow books and look up reference materials. But that's not all that libraries are, and for those and other services libraries are particularly valuable to people who aren't so fortunate. I'm not even just talking about the range of community events that libraries often host: my kindergarten-aged daughter has enjoyed going to our local library for weekend read-along events for years, for instance, and I've hosted a local science outreach event there, and they're the location for a local arts festival every fall, and they're a natural space for a variety of community meetings. Some libraries even run their own maker spaces. But it can be easy for highly educated and/or reasonably well-off people to forget how much of a lifeline a library can be. A lot of librarians I know talk about how library computer services are the only way for some of the poorer people in their communities to hunt for jobs, for example, because they don't have reliable internet access at home. (That's getting better as more and more people do have computers in their pockets, but there's a long way to go.) Kids growing up in families that are struggling financially don't have shelves and shelves of books to learn from at home: a library can do wonders to fill that gap if the family makes a habit of it. And librarians themselves can do wonders to help people sort through the oceans of available information to find the most useful and trustworthy sources: that's their specialized expertise, and it's not becoming less important as we gain increasing access to far larger and more comprehensive sources. Their training can be useful to anyone, but it's especially helpful to be able to turn to a librarian if (e.g.) you haven't gone through a high quality college program that's taught you the basics of that expertise yourself. There's a lot more to say, and yes, libraries are going to need to transform in fascinating ways in the future. But there really does seem to be a role for something akin to libraries in our society. (And, as an aside, you'll rarely find a group of people more fervently dedicated to issues like privacy and freedom of information than librarians. That's valuable, too.)

imron 9y ago

> And you know what? I have not been to that library ever, and I've lived in this neighborhood for years. This is the "I don't have a use for it, so no-one else possibly could either" mentality.