3 ms·

Your experience with libraries is 20years behind the times. My local library has a 3D printer.

thu2111 7y ago
Maybe so. But is it still a library if its primary cited uses isn't reading books? Why not just rename it to what it really is, some sort of community/maker centre?
- watersb 7y ago
  "Rebranding" would incur costs for very little benefit. Perhaps you could offer to pay for the new signs, logos, etc for your local library. You could donate the work required to submit a proposal, and if your numbers are good maybe they will be interested. In general, I see libraries promoting their services via web sites and Facebook online, and physical bulletin boards in-house and around town. My childhood, ~45 years ago rural Georgia (USA), had a great selection of proto-nerd books, even production facilities for the local-access cable TV channel. Not strictly related to public library, but we also had a great time with after-school and summer maker programs sponsored by the County Extension office. In agriculture, everyone has to be a "maker". (I don't know what urban regions were like. And as this was only about ten years after state-mandated apartheid, no doubt lots of kids were living in medieval conditions.)
- smnrchrds 7y ago
  1. Books are still one of the primary uses of libraries. It's just that they no longer are their only use. 2. Why do we call our smartphones phones at all? I mean, sure, they can make phone calls. But most people use them mostly for things that are not phone calls or phone-related at all. That's how language works. Look at the etymology of any word you like. More likely than not, the literal meaning refers to something historical that may or may not apply or exist anymore. For example, software developers are called engineers. Does that mean they are experts when it comes to engines? And not just software. Civil engineers don't know much about engines either. Yet for hundreds of years, they have been called engineers and for thousands to come, they will be. This is not a bug. This is the natural life of words in human languages.

Maybe so. But is it still a library if its primary cited uses isn't reading books? Why not just rename it to what it really is, some sort of community/maker centre?

watersb 7y ago
"Rebranding" would incur costs for very little benefit. Perhaps you could offer to pay for the new signs, logos, etc for your local library. You could donate the work required to submit a proposal, and if your numbers are good maybe they will be interested. In general, I see libraries promoting their services via web sites and Facebook online, and physical bulletin boards in-house and around town. My childhood, ~45 years ago rural Georgia (USA), had a great selection of proto-nerd books, even production facilities for the local-access cable TV channel. Not strictly related to public library, but we also had a great time with after-school and summer maker programs sponsored by the County Extension office. In agriculture, everyone has to be a "maker". (I don't know what urban regions were like. And as this was only about ten years after state-mandated apartheid, no doubt lots of kids were living in medieval conditions.)
smnrchrds 7y ago
1. Books are still one of the primary uses of libraries. It's just that they no longer are their only use. 2. Why do we call our smartphones phones at all? I mean, sure, they can make phone calls. But most people use them mostly for things that are not phone calls or phone-related at all. That's how language works. Look at the etymology of any word you like. More likely than not, the literal meaning refers to something historical that may or may not apply or exist anymore. For example, software developers are called engineers. Does that mean they are experts when it comes to engines? And not just software. Civil engineers don't know much about engines either. Yet for hundreds of years, they have been called engineers and for thousands to come, they will be. This is not a bug. This is the natural life of words in human languages.