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You can renew books at most libraries online and avoid late fees. It's cheaper to buy a book than to borrow a free one? Most individuals with money find it mo

You can renew books at most libraries online and avoid late fees. It's cheaper to buy a book than to borrow a free one? Most individuals with money find it more convenient to spend money (e.g. - cooking, transportation, etc...). One building can serve many thousands over a year. Borrowing scales better than buying.

JoeAltmaier 16y ago
Look at the stats on your local library. Maybe they used to serve the public, now they serve a loyal following of library nuts. Look at the stats on your police station, or fire station, or post office (oops - maybe not so good). They pay their way. Carnegie had it right, in the 1910's. But the world has changed, and the library model is (fast becoming) obsolete.
- deleted 16y ago
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- JoeAltmaier 16y ago
  And here's some stats on Alaska public libraries: http://library.state.ak.us/dev/plstats/plstats.html#annual_spreadsheets http://library.state.ak.us/dev/plstats/plstats.html#annual_s... What does it show? That Internet access accounts for 1/3 of visits. Do you think that is going up, or going down? Let's cut to the chase: replace the library with public access Internet stations, and stop pretending. Ok, look at it this way. Does your kid go down to the library to research a school report? Or just Google it? Do they even know how to use the index to periodicals? Why?
JoeAltmaier 16y ago
Yes, for an ADD family, its Far cheaper to buy them than "borrow" them. And then ... you own them! And can loan them out yourself! And re-read them. And talk about them, and go find quotes in them... I went to my library to read science fiction, years ago. A few months after I started, the collection started shrinking? The library was having "book sales"! Selling off their collection! To buy more videos, and romance novels, and popular literature. I gave up.
JoeAltmaier 16y ago
To borrow, you must usually have a library card. Which isn't free. So you're actually leasing the books. Kinda like NetFlix, right? So only "individuals with money" are getting borrower priviledges. For the homeless that leaves, what, loitering? Viewing Internet porn in front of the kiddies? Meeting babes?
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- natnat 16y ago
  I don't know about your community, but in everywhere I've lived, library cards are free. I'm pretty sure anywhere they aren't free, the fees are pretty nominal (i.e. $2-$10 every few years or if you lose your card). Anyone can look at books inside of the library, though, regardless of citizenship or being able to afford the zero to ten bucks every few years they need to pay to take books home. For the homeless, this isn't even much of an issue, because the library is probably the best place they could read.
  - JoeAltmaier 16y ago
    Thanks! Now I'll actually look up some library card prices. $26.22 per Peterborough resident $1 Unitah Co, Utah $0 CA if you're a resident, $10 for non-resident $0 Peoria, AZ for residents $0 (resident or youth) or $60 (non-resident) Austin TX So, most are free for residents, and pricey or unavailable for non-residents. What is a resident? Somebody with a driver's license, voter registration card or utility bill, typically. Which can be a significant barrier to a segment of the population. Not only the homeless, but bus-riding apartment-dwellers may be barred for instance.
    - natnat 16y ago
      I was up until recently a bus-riding apartment-dweller, and my driver's license is from out of state. I was able to get a library card with my voter registration card, which I got with my electricity bill. In Boston, you can get it with just about any form of documentation, including a credit card, a health insurance card, a student ID, or a photocopy of your lease agreement, and it's free to sign up. It's a huge problem that homeless people can't get registered to vote, but I don't really see how shutting down libraries is going to solve any problems for the homeless. Like I said before, if you can't prove residence because you're homeless, you're probably better off reading the books inside the library anyway. Anyone can do that, regardless of residence.

JoeAltmaier 16y ago

Look at the stats on your local library. Maybe they used to serve the public, now they serve a loyal following of library nuts. Look at the stats on your police station, or fire station, or post office (oops - maybe not so good). They pay their way. Carnegie had it right, in the 1910's. But the world has changed, and the library model is (fast becoming) obsolete.

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
JoeAltmaier 16y ago
And here's some stats on Alaska public libraries: http://library.state.ak.us/dev/plstats/plstats.html#annual_spreadsheets http://library.state.ak.us/dev/plstats/plstats.html#annual_s... What does it show? That Internet access accounts for 1/3 of visits. Do you think that is going up, or going down? Let's cut to the chase: replace the library with public access Internet stations, and stop pretending. Ok, look at it this way. Does your kid go down to the library to research a school report? Or just Google it? Do they even know how to use the index to periodicals? Why?

JoeAltmaier 16y ago

Yes, for an ADD family, its Far cheaper to buy them than "borrow" them. And then ... you own them! And can loan them out yourself! And re-read them. And talk about them, and go find quotes in them... I went to my library to read science fiction, years ago. A few months after I started, the collection started shrinking? The library was having "book sales"! Selling off their collection! To buy more videos, and romance novels, and popular literature. I gave up.

JoeAltmaier 16y ago

To borrow, you must usually have a library card. Which isn't free. So you're actually leasing the books. Kinda like NetFlix, right? So only "individuals with money" are getting borrower priviledges. For the homeless that leaves, what, loitering? Viewing Internet porn in front of the kiddies? Meeting babes?

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
natnat 16y ago
I don't know about your community, but in everywhere I've lived, library cards are free. I'm pretty sure anywhere they aren't free, the fees are pretty nominal (i.e. $2-$10 every few years or if you lose your card). Anyone can look at books inside of the library, though, regardless of citizenship or being able to afford the zero to ten bucks every few years they need to pay to take books home. For the homeless, this isn't even much of an issue, because the library is probably the best place they could read.
- JoeAltmaier 16y ago
  Thanks! Now I'll actually look up some library card prices. $26.22 per Peterborough resident $1 Unitah Co, Utah $0 CA if you're a resident, $10 for non-resident $0 Peoria, AZ for residents $0 (resident or youth) or $60 (non-resident) Austin TX So, most are free for residents, and pricey or unavailable for non-residents. What is a resident? Somebody with a driver's license, voter registration card or utility bill, typically. Which can be a significant barrier to a segment of the population. Not only the homeless, but bus-riding apartment-dwellers may be barred for instance.
  - natnat 16y ago
    I was up until recently a bus-riding apartment-dweller, and my driver's license is from out of state. I was able to get a library card with my voter registration card, which I got with my electricity bill. In Boston, you can get it with just about any form of documentation, including a credit card, a health insurance card, a student ID, or a photocopy of your lease agreement, and it's free to sign up. It's a huge problem that homeless people can't get registered to vote, but I don't really see how shutting down libraries is going to solve any problems for the homeless. Like I said before, if you can't prove residence because you're homeless, you're probably better off reading the books inside the library anyway. Anyone can do that, regardless of residence.