8 ms·

The Demise of the Public Library

59 points by llambda 15y ago

JumpCrisscross 15y ago
The article starts out with a potentially sound assertion on considering whether patrons of libraries walk or travel to them (though I cringe at anecdotal evidence being used to assault a study). It then argues that libraries serve their purpose as public e-cafes
spodek 15y ago
Libraries create community and culture. I can't tell you how much value I get out of having a library across the street from me. I must go there at least weekly. I read books and see movies I wouldn't have otherwise. I meet neighbors there. Families bring children there. Libraries stock books and movies stores don't. Having fewer libraries, even if bigger, doesn't match the value of a neighborhood library.
- gavinlynch 15y ago
  If you did not have a family, would you still find value in the library? Not trying to put words in your mouth, but it seems it's biggest value is for parents with children.
  - king_jester 15y ago
    In my experience, I find huge value in my local library, and I have no children. For myself, when unemployed the library provided a fantastic public space for me to get away from the home and do some serious programming work and job hunting. I know a few people who work on their side project ideas at the library (they bring their own laptops for this) and I know several people who use the library as their only source of internet access. Keep in mind the value for a particular local library may not fall along your particular interests. Libraries serve the community as a whole, and there are many diverse needs for a typical community that a library has to serve.
  - pradocchia 15y ago
    families are the future of society.
- wisty 15y ago
  And it's not like smaller libraries can't get books in, if you need them. These days, you can probably fill in a list of ISBNs on a website, and pick them up in a couple of days, as they can ship rarer books in from larger libraries. The only point in having libraries, not warehouses, is that people can visit them.
antidaily 15y ago
or The Demise of Physical Media
- tjr 15y ago
  With VHS tapes, and DVDs, we watched programs and movies on television screens. Take away the physical media and replace it with files on a computer, and we're still watching programs and movies on television screens. With vinyl records, and cassettes, and compact discs, we listened to music on speaker systems and on headphones. Take away the physical media and replace it with files on a computer, and we're still listening to music on speaker systems and on headphones. But books? We never consumed books through something analogous to television sets or speakers. We held the actual book in our hands, and read the printed pages with our eyes. Replacing physical books with digital books is, in my opinion, a significantly bigger switch than moving from compact discs to MP3s or from DVDs to MP4s. The entire experience has changed, not just how the content is stored.
  - simcop2387 15y ago
    Along with that we've gone from needing gigantic buildings to house them to being able to carry them around with you in your pocket. That's also a gigantic change in the experience. It's turned a personal library/study into something for the rich into something that is affordable by at least half the population in the western world if not more.
    - estevez 15y ago
      There's a 3.5 GB ebook torrent at Pirate Bay. Between Project Gutenberg and places like TPB it's within reach for anyone with an internet connection.
      - kruhft 15y ago
        A while back I, ahem, saw a torrent for over 10G of Math books/textbooks on TPB along with numerous other collections that one would never find outside of exclusive university libraries. The internet has changed everything regarding access to certain classes of information.
smountcastle 15y ago
This is truly sad. When I visit my local library all of the public user computers are continuously utilized and there is a waiting list -- I assume these folks either don't own their own computer or need to be able to use a public one. I appreciate the quiet place to work and free WiFi. Not everyone has e-readers or can afford to purchase a large number of books--our library definitely fills a need in the local community. Plus knowledgable staff can recommend good books and assist students with their research (the inter-library loan system which includes local Universities is especially helpful in this case). While I can drive to the library, I do see a large number of folks arriving via foot and/or public transportation. I cannot imagine the impact to those communities which are losing their local libraries. Perhaps Brent is particularly affluent, but I suspect that the council is being misguided by their consultants or simply doesn't care about those members of the community who will be impacted most by these library closures.
atacrawl 15y ago
I consider the public library to be the secular society's equivalent of a church -- a place where the entire community can freely meet and exchange ideas, where mind and spirit can be enlightened through knowledge. I fear as libraries go, so goes secularism itself.
- gavinlynch 15y ago
  I struggle to see the correlation.
  - gavinlynch 15y ago
    I'd be happy to have a discussion about a possible relationship between libraries and a dissolution of secular thinking in America--I'm just saying an emotional and hyperbolic lamentation of the death of a library is not that discussion. Not sure why that's a down vote. I just don't see the correlation.
- kiba 15y ago
  I thought it was called the coffee shop.
  - gavinlynch 15y ago
    or the Internets?
- pjscott 15y ago
  I've always thought of them as a place where you go to get books. Those other things are nice, but secondary.
tomjen3 15y ago
Well that is to be expected. Ebooks are so much cheaper to distribute that it makes no sense to have all these physical books around.
valgaze 15y ago
I'm very comfortable with the end of libraries as we know them today, but I think the facilities should be repurposed into "study lounges" and meeting space for civics groups. With a few exceptns, you don't really need a library for books anymore. Why not have the young professionals studying for grad school entrance exams or high school kids studying in Starbucks to do that in a community-center type space. For folks without computers/Internet access, keep or expand the computers that are already in there. I remember the Nook had a very weird feature where if you were inside the store you could free-read any book you wanted electronically, maybe a repurposed library could have the same licensing arrangement with content from the likes of Google books.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- absconditus 15y ago
  Only a fraction of all books are available in electronic format.
valgaze 15y ago
BTW, UCSD students recenetly "broke in" to an auxiliary library shuttered due to budget cuts: http://www.publiclibraries.com/blog/college-students-force-ucsd-library-to-open-for-finals/ http://www.publiclibraries.com/blog/college-students-force-u... A quiet place to study and think is crucially important
briandon 15y ago
Public libraries (in the traditional, physical-book-filled sense) are probably a doomed institution. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_library_usage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_library_usage Maybe they can hold on as free Internet cafes, since that seems to be how many people actually use them today. All that would be missing would be the availability of free or subsidized tea, drip coffee, and maybe some sort of nutritious but inexpensive to prepare hot soup.
- gnat 15y ago
  That Wikipedia article blurs research libraries (like you'd find in a university) with public libraries. Almost all the hard numbers they quote are about research libraries, but the libraries that most of us care about (the ones that act as a democratic backstop for access to information) are public libraries. The real thing to watch is the countercyclical nature of public libraries (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_library_usage#Economic_effects_on_library_usage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_library_usage#Econom... in that article). As the economy worsens, public library use increases. Not just for reading material, but for the public services the libraries provide: free law clinics, resume-writing help, etc. I'm not sure what your local public library is like, but in our small town library is busy all the time. People are borrowing paper books, using the Internet-connected computers, and getting help from librarians. Doomed? Only if we let them; only if we think it's okay to reinstate barriers around lifelong learning.
  - briandon 15y ago
    When I've ventured to my local public libraries, except for the children's section, the stacks have been pretty dusty. I haven't borrowed a book from a library myself in at least 5 years. I purchase a lot of books (paper books) -- mostly from Amazon but occasionally from brick and mortar bookstores -- but like to make notes and write questions in the margins or on Post-its and tend to keep them for later reference.
  - briandon 15y ago
    Also, public libraries aren't necessarily the best venues for Internet usage, free law clinics, resume-writing/job assistance, etc. A community center that also has a library component, maybe.
rmason 15y ago
How many of you who support libraries actually give to them? After a friend challenged me to match his efforts I started giving books to our local library every year. My sister and I virtually came of age in that library and I'd forgotten how vital it is for a childs development. But libraries do need to evolve. They need to have digital offerings. I'd like to see them set aside room for hacker spaces as well as user group meeting rooms. The more community engagement for the libraries services the harder it will be for politicians to cut their budgets.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- smountcastle 15y ago
  How many of your book donations show up in the stacks, available for check out? I've stopped donating books to my local library because they would just turn around and sell all of them at the next book fair. I was even buying new books which I'd appreciate being able to check out and donating them -- perhaps my tastes are out of sync from the rest of the patrons, but as a kid I appreciated that my local library had technical books that I was able to learn programming from.
  - rmason 15y ago
    I haven't had that problem. The majority of books I've given though have to do with local and state history. But I've given some ham radio books and they're still available.
  - Symmetry 15y ago
    Even if they sell off a lot of books they can still be helping out the library. Its a sad fact that books, especially paperbacks, wear out if you let them circulate. Whenever we get donations we always compare them to what we currently have on the shelves, and keep whichever is in the best condition.
- cafard 15y ago
  The District of Columbia used to accept books for resale, not to put on the shelves. The acceptance ended with 2011, when the library's store at the MLK library downtown closed.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
- Game_Ender 15y ago
  Correct me if I am wrong, but they currently don't have enough money to staff that library so it is closed.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - guga31bb 15y ago
    Yes, money for libraries at UCSD has been significantly cut: Since 2008, the Libraries have absorbed cuts of more than $5.5 million (or approximately 16% of our operations and collections budget). In addition to these cuts, the Libraries were assessed approximately $1 million for employee furloughs last year. For 2011-12, the Libraries received a budget cut of $2 million. http://libraries.ucsd.edu/budgetcutsFAQ/index.html http://libraries.ucsd.edu/budgetcutsFAQ/index.html (full disclosure: I'm a UCSD grad student) The closing of CLICS (the site of the break-in) was particularly surprising since it was often busy, even during non-finals time. Of course, during finals weeks, available libraries are extremely crowded.
JumpCrisscross 15y ago
The article argues that libraries serve their purpose as public e-cafes. Given that this is not the original intent of libraries, it would call for re-considering how they have been transformed by modern technology, i.e. the very thing the author mocks the council for having considered. I would argue for a cloud model to libraries - as centralised a super-library as possible to house the electronic literature and then a series of "thin" libraries that have terminals to access that media. This article offers personal anecdotes against a corpus of literature on falling library user bases, etc. A NYT author can do better than inducing the state of British libraries from a personal example.
- waqf 15y ago
  Meanwhile, the person quoted in the article argues that everyone has computers and e-readers now. Right, so close the libraries and make sure e-books are free for everyone like library books used to be.
  - smountcastle 15y ago
    Our library system (Fairfax Co., VA) allows checking out e-books through a system called OverDrive: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/dbsremote/resource/ebook.htm http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/dbsremote/resource/eboo... I've only tried it once to test it out and it appeared to work fine (I don't have a Kindle, I suspect I would use it more if I did).
    - tommorris 15y ago
      OverDrive doesn't work on Kindle. Also, many libraries have only a very small number of OverDrive books: my local library has 30 ebooks on OverDrive.
      - ansy 15y ago
        You are incorrect regarding OverDrive and Kindle. The support was just recently added [1][2]. I will echo that most OverDrive collections are nowhere near large enough for most people to care just yet. But that has been rapidly changing with so many compatible eReaders on the market. Libraries are just now bulking up on digital licenses to meet the surging demand. I would not be surprised if there are already libraries with more digital copies of a popular novel than paper copies. [1] http://overdrive.com/news/OverDrive-and-Amazon-launch-Kindle-compatibility-with-Library-eBooks http://overdrive.com/news/OverDrive-and-Amazon-launch-Kindle... [2] http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=200747550 http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=...
tommorris 15y ago
And we're all missing the point again. Libraries are about books. I go to libraries to borrow books, to read books and generally get access to books other than Dan Brown and Harry Potter. That stuff is more than adequately supplied by the market: if I want mass-market paperbacks, I can get them used on Amazon for a penny plus shipping, much less than the cost of a bus ticket/train ticket/driving to the library. But more obscure stuff, out-of-print stuff, that's the value of libraries. And giving free (well, subsidised/low-cost) access to everyone who wants that is the value of libraries. I've got a Kindle. I use it as a place for storing personal documents, pretty much exclusively. Almost everything I read is not an e-book in any format. Almost everything on my bookshelves is not available as an e-book in any format. The long tail of books are not e-books and probably won't be for a long time. The point of libraries is exactly to ensure there isn't an information divide in society. Science, philosophy, literature, history, languages: these shouldn't be the preserve of people who can afford to buy the books or attend college or jump through the hoops needed to access research libraries. And it's all very well telling people to go use the Internet. What are they gonna do, look it up on Wikipedia? Fine, and where are the people who write Wikipedia going to get access to the books to write the Wikipedia articles? And what happens when they get to the end of the Wikipedia article and want to read more? It's the same with adult education: the government tell us that we need to become "lifelong learners" to survive in the current economy. How exactly are we to do that when adult education courses are closing and libraries are closing? A working programmer friend of mine wanted to do A-level in mathematics. He could only find one place in London that offers an adults course. To get into universities, students are more and more expected to have read outside their curriculum. Getting rid of libraries makes it so only the rich kids can get access to the books. And the only answer we can give them: go buy a Kindle. If education is the road to a better life, we sure as hell need to make sure the road is kept in good repair.
- mrj 15y ago
  In many towns libraries serve as a default community center. I get daily emails with all of the events happening in my small town and I would say at least half of those are at the local library. What you're saying is true, of course. But that over looks a great deal of value that libraries provide -- it's more than just bound paper on shelves.
noonespecial 15y ago
Libraries are one of those things that, even if you don't personally use them, your life will get a little bit worse if they disappear because of how their loss will effect your community. Probably enough so to justify supporting them with your taxes even if you never set foot in one.
paulhauggis 15y ago
I'm posting this from a library. I use my local library for my office. Most have free Internet and more recently, free DVD rental.
jdietrich 15y ago
My local libraries function primarily as daycentres for the homeless and free internet cafes for students and immigrants. Arguably a valuable social service, but a library in name only. My nearest library loans more DVDs than books. I'd be prepared to fight for the idea of libraries, but the reality? Not so much. Cut the funding, close them all, spend the rest of the money on FE colleges (community colleges).
- keithpeter 15y ago
  "I'd be prepared to fight for the idea of libraries, but the reality? Not so much. Cut the funding, close them all, spend the rest of the money on FE colleges (community colleges)." Make sure that money is ring fenced carefully. See my post above in this thread.

59 points by llambda 15y ago

The article starts out with a potentially sound assertion on considering whether patrons of libraries walk or travel to them (though I cringe at anecdotal evidence being used to assault a study). It then argues that libraries serve their purpose as public e-cafes

spodek 15y ago

Libraries create community and culture. I can't tell you how much value I get out of having a library across the street from me. I must go there at least weekly. I read books and see movies I wouldn't have otherwise. I meet neighbors there. Families bring children there. Libraries stock books and movies stores don't. Having fewer libraries, even if bigger, doesn't match the value of a neighborhood library.

gavinlynch 15y ago
If you did not have a family, would you still find value in the library? Not trying to put words in your mouth, but it seems it's biggest value is for parents with children.
- king_jester 15y ago
  In my experience, I find huge value in my local library, and I have no children. For myself, when unemployed the library provided a fantastic public space for me to get away from the home and do some serious programming work and job hunting. I know a few people who work on their side project ideas at the library (they bring their own laptops for this) and I know several people who use the library as their only source of internet access. Keep in mind the value for a particular local library may not fall along your particular interests. Libraries serve the community as a whole, and there are many diverse needs for a typical community that a library has to serve.
- pradocchia 15y ago
  families are the future of society.
wisty 15y ago
And it's not like smaller libraries can't get books in, if you need them. These days, you can probably fill in a list of ISBNs on a website, and pick them up in a couple of days, as they can ship rarer books in from larger libraries. The only point in having libraries, not warehouses, is that people can visit them.

antidaily 15y ago

or The Demise of Physical Media

tjr 15y ago
With VHS tapes, and DVDs, we watched programs and movies on television screens. Take away the physical media and replace it with files on a computer, and we're still watching programs and movies on television screens. With vinyl records, and cassettes, and compact discs, we listened to music on speaker systems and on headphones. Take away the physical media and replace it with files on a computer, and we're still listening to music on speaker systems and on headphones. But books? We never consumed books through something analogous to television sets or speakers. We held the actual book in our hands, and read the printed pages with our eyes. Replacing physical books with digital books is, in my opinion, a significantly bigger switch than moving from compact discs to MP3s or from DVDs to MP4s. The entire experience has changed, not just how the content is stored.
- simcop2387 15y ago
  Along with that we've gone from needing gigantic buildings to house them to being able to carry them around with you in your pocket. That's also a gigantic change in the experience. It's turned a personal library/study into something for the rich into something that is affordable by at least half the population in the western world if not more.
  - estevez 15y ago
    There's a 3.5 GB ebook torrent at Pirate Bay. Between Project Gutenberg and places like TPB it's within reach for anyone with an internet connection.
    - kruhft 15y ago
      A while back I, ahem, saw a torrent for over 10G of Math books/textbooks on TPB along with numerous other collections that one would never find outside of exclusive university libraries. The internet has changed everything regarding access to certain classes of information.

smountcastle 15y ago

This is truly sad. When I visit my local library all of the public user computers are continuously utilized and there is a waiting list -- I assume these folks either don't own their own computer or need to be able to use a public one. I appreciate the quiet place to work and free WiFi. Not everyone has e-readers or can afford to purchase a large number of books--our library definitely fills a need in the local community. Plus knowledgable staff can recommend good books and assist students with their research (the inter-library loan system which includes local Universities is especially helpful in this case). While I can drive to the library, I do see a large number of folks arriving via foot and/or public transportation. I cannot imagine the impact to those communities which are losing their local libraries. Perhaps Brent is particularly affluent, but I suspect that the council is being misguided by their consultants or simply doesn't care about those members of the community who will be impacted most by these library closures.

atacrawl 15y ago

I consider the public library to be the secular society's equivalent of a church -- a place where the entire community can freely meet and exchange ideas, where mind and spirit can be enlightened through knowledge. I fear as libraries go, so goes secularism itself.

gavinlynch 15y ago
I struggle to see the correlation.
- gavinlynch 15y ago
  I'd be happy to have a discussion about a possible relationship between libraries and a dissolution of secular thinking in America--I'm just saying an emotional and hyperbolic lamentation of the death of a library is not that discussion. Not sure why that's a down vote. I just don't see the correlation.
kiba 15y ago
I thought it was called the coffee shop.
- gavinlynch 15y ago
  or the Internets?
pjscott 15y ago
I've always thought of them as a place where you go to get books. Those other things are nice, but secondary.

tomjen3 15y ago

Well that is to be expected. Ebooks are so much cheaper to distribute that it makes no sense to have all these physical books around.

valgaze 15y ago

I'm very comfortable with the end of libraries as we know them today, but I think the facilities should be repurposed into "study lounges" and meeting space for civics groups. With a few exceptns, you don't really need a library for books anymore. Why not have the young professionals studying for grad school entrance exams or high school kids studying in Starbucks to do that in a community-center type space. For folks without computers/Internet access, keep or expand the computers that are already in there. I remember the Nook had a very weird feature where if you were inside the store you could free-read any book you wanted electronically, maybe a repurposed library could have the same licensing arrangement with content from the likes of Google books.

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
absconditus 15y ago
Only a fraction of all books are available in electronic format.

valgaze 15y ago

BTW, UCSD students recenetly "broke in" to an auxiliary library shuttered due to budget cuts: http://www.publiclibraries.com/blog/college-students-force-ucsd-library-to-open-for-finals/ http://www.publiclibraries.com/blog/college-students-force-u... A quiet place to study and think is crucially important

briandon 15y ago

Public libraries (in the traditional, physical-book-filled sense) are probably a doomed institution. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_library_usage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_library_usage Maybe they can hold on as free Internet cafes, since that seems to be how many people actually use them today. All that would be missing would be the availability of free or subsidized tea, drip coffee, and maybe some sort of nutritious but inexpensive to prepare hot soup.

gnat 15y ago
That Wikipedia article blurs research libraries (like you'd find in a university) with public libraries. Almost all the hard numbers they quote are about research libraries, but the libraries that most of us care about (the ones that act as a democratic backstop for access to information) are public libraries. The real thing to watch is the countercyclical nature of public libraries (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_library_usage#Economic_effects_on_library_usage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_library_usage#Econom... in that article). As the economy worsens, public library use increases. Not just for reading material, but for the public services the libraries provide: free law clinics, resume-writing help, etc. I'm not sure what your local public library is like, but in our small town library is busy all the time. People are borrowing paper books, using the Internet-connected computers, and getting help from librarians. Doomed? Only if we let them; only if we think it's okay to reinstate barriers around lifelong learning.
- briandon 15y ago
  When I've ventured to my local public libraries, except for the children's section, the stacks have been pretty dusty. I haven't borrowed a book from a library myself in at least 5 years. I purchase a lot of books (paper books) -- mostly from Amazon but occasionally from brick and mortar bookstores -- but like to make notes and write questions in the margins or on Post-its and tend to keep them for later reference.
- briandon 15y ago
  Also, public libraries aren't necessarily the best venues for Internet usage, free law clinics, resume-writing/job assistance, etc. A community center that also has a library component, maybe.

rmason 15y ago

How many of you who support libraries actually give to them? After a friend challenged me to match his efforts I started giving books to our local library every year. My sister and I virtually came of age in that library and I'd forgotten how vital it is for a childs development. But libraries do need to evolve. They need to have digital offerings. I'd like to see them set aside room for hacker spaces as well as user group meeting rooms. The more community engagement for the libraries services the harder it will be for politicians to cut their budgets.

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
smountcastle 15y ago
How many of your book donations show up in the stacks, available for check out? I've stopped donating books to my local library because they would just turn around and sell all of them at the next book fair. I was even buying new books which I'd appreciate being able to check out and donating them -- perhaps my tastes are out of sync from the rest of the patrons, but as a kid I appreciated that my local library had technical books that I was able to learn programming from.
- rmason 15y ago
  I haven't had that problem. The majority of books I've given though have to do with local and state history. But I've given some ham radio books and they're still available.
- Symmetry 15y ago
  Even if they sell off a lot of books they can still be helping out the library. Its a sad fact that books, especially paperbacks, wear out if you let them circulate. Whenever we get donations we always compare them to what we currently have on the shelves, and keep whichever is in the best condition.
cafard 15y ago
The District of Columbia used to accept books for resale, not to put on the shelves. The acceptance ended with 2011, when the library's store at the MLK library downtown closed.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

Game_Ender 15y ago
Correct me if I am wrong, but they currently don't have enough money to staff that library so it is closed.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- guga31bb 15y ago
  Yes, money for libraries at UCSD has been significantly cut: Since 2008, the Libraries have absorbed cuts of more than $5.5 million (or approximately 16% of our operations and collections budget). In addition to these cuts, the Libraries were assessed approximately $1 million for employee furloughs last year. For 2011-12, the Libraries received a budget cut of $2 million. http://libraries.ucsd.edu/budgetcutsFAQ/index.html http://libraries.ucsd.edu/budgetcutsFAQ/index.html (full disclosure: I'm a UCSD grad student) The closing of CLICS (the site of the break-in) was particularly surprising since it was often busy, even during non-finals time. Of course, during finals weeks, available libraries are extremely crowded.

JumpCrisscross 15y ago

The article argues that libraries serve their purpose as public e-cafes. Given that this is not the original intent of libraries, it would call for re-considering how they have been transformed by modern technology, i.e. the very thing the author mocks the council for having considered. I would argue for a cloud model to libraries - as centralised a super-library as possible to house the electronic literature and then a series of "thin" libraries that have terminals to access that media. This article offers personal anecdotes against a corpus of literature on falling library user bases, etc. A NYT author can do better than inducing the state of British libraries from a personal example.

waqf 15y ago
Meanwhile, the person quoted in the article argues that everyone has computers and e-readers now. Right, so close the libraries and make sure e-books are free for everyone like library books used to be.
- smountcastle 15y ago
  Our library system (Fairfax Co., VA) allows checking out e-books through a system called OverDrive: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/dbsremote/resource/ebook.htm http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/dbsremote/resource/eboo... I've only tried it once to test it out and it appeared to work fine (I don't have a Kindle, I suspect I would use it more if I did).
  - tommorris 15y ago
    OverDrive doesn't work on Kindle. Also, many libraries have only a very small number of OverDrive books: my local library has 30 ebooks on OverDrive.
    - ansy 15y ago
      You are incorrect regarding OverDrive and Kindle. The support was just recently added [1][2]. I will echo that most OverDrive collections are nowhere near large enough for most people to care just yet. But that has been rapidly changing with so many compatible eReaders on the market. Libraries are just now bulking up on digital licenses to meet the surging demand. I would not be surprised if there are already libraries with more digital copies of a popular novel than paper copies. [1] http://overdrive.com/news/OverDrive-and-Amazon-launch-Kindle-compatibility-with-Library-eBooks http://overdrive.com/news/OverDrive-and-Amazon-launch-Kindle... [2] http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=200747550 http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=...

tommorris 15y ago

And we're all missing the point again. Libraries are about books. I go to libraries to borrow books, to read books and generally get access to books other than Dan Brown and Harry Potter. That stuff is more than adequately supplied by the market: if I want mass-market paperbacks, I can get them used on Amazon for a penny plus shipping, much less than the cost of a bus ticket/train ticket/driving to the library. But more obscure stuff, out-of-print stuff, that's the value of libraries. And giving free (well, subsidised/low-cost) access to everyone who wants that is the value of libraries. I've got a Kindle. I use it as a place for storing personal documents, pretty much exclusively. Almost everything I read is not an e-book in any format. Almost everything on my bookshelves is not available as an e-book in any format. The long tail of books are not e-books and probably won't be for a long time. The point of libraries is exactly to ensure there isn't an information divide in society. Science, philosophy, literature, history, languages: these shouldn't be the preserve of people who can afford to buy the books or attend college or jump through the hoops needed to access research libraries. And it's all very well telling people to go use the Internet. What are they gonna do, look it up on Wikipedia? Fine, and where are the people who write Wikipedia going to get access to the books to write the Wikipedia articles? And what happens when they get to the end of the Wikipedia article and want to read more? It's the same with adult education: the government tell us that we need to become "lifelong learners" to survive in the current economy. How exactly are we to do that when adult education courses are closing and libraries are closing? A working programmer friend of mine wanted to do A-level in mathematics. He could only find one place in London that offers an adults course. To get into universities, students are more and more expected to have read outside their curriculum. Getting rid of libraries makes it so only the rich kids can get access to the books. And the only answer we can give them: go buy a Kindle. If education is the road to a better life, we sure as hell need to make sure the road is kept in good repair.

mrj 15y ago
In many towns libraries serve as a default community center. I get daily emails with all of the events happening in my small town and I would say at least half of those are at the local library. What you're saying is true, of course. But that over looks a great deal of value that libraries provide -- it's more than just bound paper on shelves.

noonespecial 15y ago

Libraries are one of those things that, even if you don't personally use them, your life will get a little bit worse if they disappear because of how their loss will effect your community. Probably enough so to justify supporting them with your taxes even if you never set foot in one.

paulhauggis 15y ago

I'm posting this from a library. I use my local library for my office. Most have free Internet and more recently, free DVD rental.

jdietrich 15y ago

My local libraries function primarily as daycentres for the homeless and free internet cafes for students and immigrants. Arguably a valuable social service, but a library in name only. My nearest library loans more DVDs than books. I'd be prepared to fight for the idea of libraries, but the reality? Not so much. Cut the funding, close them all, spend the rest of the money on FE colleges (community colleges).

keithpeter 15y ago
"I'd be prepared to fight for the idea of libraries, but the reality? Not so much. Cut the funding, close them all, spend the rest of the money on FE colleges (community colleges)." Make sure that money is ring fenced carefully. See my post above in this thread.