4 ms·

Horrible idea. One day your library card will require a monthly subscription fee which will then be steadily increased. Then they will start showing you adver

Horrible idea. One day your library card will require a monthly subscription fee which will then be steadily increased. Then they will start showing you advertisements in the library and then put advertisements in the books. Maybe even start using cameras or RFID to see what books you read and start using that data to sell you ads. It really is terrible what privatization does.

schwartzworld 5y ago
> RFID to see what books you read All the books in my public library have RFID already to make them faster to check in and check out. I'm also pretty sure there's been a record of every book you've checked in and out of the library even predating that. Glad they don't already do this.
- vitno 5y ago
  Actually, libraries intentionally do not keep records of what books you've checked out for patron privacy reasons. It can be annoying, but it's a the right thing to do.
  - mcculley 5y ago
    When did this change? When I was a kid, the books from the public library had a little card that had the previous borrowers crossed out.
  - Claude_Shannon 5y ago
    In Poland - they do keep track.
  - schwartzworld 5y ago
    I'm not sure where you're located, but I find that hard to believe for the US. My library has an app which is obviously storing data about me on a server somewhere. They certainly know which books I have out now and which are overdue.
    - vitno 5y ago
      This is at least common in US libraries. The San Francisco public library as well as the library system where I grew up both do not keep library records after you have returned the item. I know there is a lot of contention about their private partners keeping records (ex: Overdrive) but I haven't followed that conversation much.
  - gruez 5y ago
    Source? I've heard of librarians fighting government agencies demanding access to their records, but it's pretty obvious that my local library keeps track of what I borrow.
    - vitno 5y ago
      here is an example: https://sfpl.org/about-us/confidentiality-and-usa-patriot-act https://sfpl.org/about-us/confidentiality-and-usa-patriot-ac... "The Library does not maintain a history of what a borrower has previously checked out once books and materials are returned on time."
savant_penguin 5y ago
Your library card already has a monthly subscription, it's called taxes
- sovietmudkipz 5y ago
  It’s more of an annual subscription.
- shkkmo 5y ago
  Not really, you don't have to prove you paid taxes to use a library. That's a pretty big difference.
  - Kon-Peki 5y ago
    You have to "prove" that you live within a geographic boundary to use library services beyond the basic "come inside, browse and read" - because all property within that boundary is paying taxes. Most libraries are relatively lax on the proof because they see it as a public service. But they don't have to be, and you would expect that a public library operated by a for-profit company will be far more strict than others.
    - justin66 5y ago
      My state has some of the best libraries in the world and the only requirement to get a library card is to reside in the state. That's a big geographic boundary. Once a person has the card, a lot of interlibrary loan and online borrowing possibilities exist. I imagine a for-profit library would be largely frozen out of our interlibrary loan system and all the reciprocity involved in membership, but... maybe not? I don't know, but I suspect that this model of deprofessionalisation is going to be limited to libraries in small towns and municipalities.
      - Kon-Peki 5y ago
        A state-wide system is a really nice thing. You are lucky!
matheusmoreira 5y ago
> Then they will start showing you advertisements in the library and then put advertisements in the books. I don't even doubt that they'd do this. Imagine trying to read something while some advertiser constantly tries to grab your attention. Is there a single place on this planet that's safe from advertisers?

schwartzworld 5y ago

> RFID to see what books you read All the books in my public library have RFID already to make them faster to check in and check out. I'm also pretty sure there's been a record of every book you've checked in and out of the library even predating that. Glad they don't already do this.

vitno 5y ago
Actually, libraries intentionally do not keep records of what books you've checked out for patron privacy reasons. It can be annoying, but it's a the right thing to do.
- mcculley 5y ago
  When did this change? When I was a kid, the books from the public library had a little card that had the previous borrowers crossed out.
- Claude_Shannon 5y ago
  In Poland - they do keep track.
- schwartzworld 5y ago
  I'm not sure where you're located, but I find that hard to believe for the US. My library has an app which is obviously storing data about me on a server somewhere. They certainly know which books I have out now and which are overdue.
  - vitno 5y ago
    This is at least common in US libraries. The San Francisco public library as well as the library system where I grew up both do not keep library records after you have returned the item. I know there is a lot of contention about their private partners keeping records (ex: Overdrive) but I haven't followed that conversation much.
- gruez 5y ago
  Source? I've heard of librarians fighting government agencies demanding access to their records, but it's pretty obvious that my local library keeps track of what I borrow.
  - vitno 5y ago
    here is an example: https://sfpl.org/about-us/confidentiality-and-usa-patriot-act https://sfpl.org/about-us/confidentiality-and-usa-patriot-ac... "The Library does not maintain a history of what a borrower has previously checked out once books and materials are returned on time."

savant_penguin 5y ago

Your library card already has a monthly subscription, it's called taxes

sovietmudkipz 5y ago
It’s more of an annual subscription.
shkkmo 5y ago
Not really, you don't have to prove you paid taxes to use a library. That's a pretty big difference.
- Kon-Peki 5y ago
  You have to "prove" that you live within a geographic boundary to use library services beyond the basic "come inside, browse and read" - because all property within that boundary is paying taxes. Most libraries are relatively lax on the proof because they see it as a public service. But they don't have to be, and you would expect that a public library operated by a for-profit company will be far more strict than others.
  - justin66 5y ago
    My state has some of the best libraries in the world and the only requirement to get a library card is to reside in the state. That's a big geographic boundary. Once a person has the card, a lot of interlibrary loan and online borrowing possibilities exist. I imagine a for-profit library would be largely frozen out of our interlibrary loan system and all the reciprocity involved in membership, but... maybe not? I don't know, but I suspect that this model of deprofessionalisation is going to be limited to libraries in small towns and municipalities.
    - Kon-Peki 5y ago
      A state-wide system is a really nice thing. You are lucky!

matheusmoreira 5y ago

> Then they will start showing you advertisements in the library and then put advertisements in the books. I don't even doubt that they'd do this. Imagine trying to read something while some advertiser constantly tries to grab your attention. Is there a single place on this planet that's safe from advertisers?