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> Because of all the feel-good community stuff libraries have to do in order to remain "relevant", the actual point of the library gets slowly undermined and we

> Because of all the feel-good community stuff libraries have to do in order to remain "relevant", the actual point of the library gets slowly undermined and weakened. I want to point out that the actual point of a library is to do all of the things you mention. A community's library isn't just a repository of books, it's an integral public meeting space that facilitates access to information and helps with the needs of its community. Running programs for kids (in addition to ones for teens, adults, the poor, etc.) and providing access to civic information are all fair game for a public library. Libraries balance the needs of their communities, and in your community it sounds like there is a big demand for services other than books.

tommorris 15y ago
In my area, we have one of the largest spends on libraries in the country. But unlike a lot of other groups, those of us who just turn up and want to borrow books seem to not get much say in library policy. I don't think any of the community stuff is bad, and the local government needs to provide services for people, but that's not an excuse for reducing the books on the shelves, making inter-library loan services worse and so on. Libraries serve a lot of constituencies, but they sometimes forget that readers are one of them.
_dps 15y ago
I ask this as an honest question so please forgive the directness: in what sense, aside from the parent comment's "trying to remain relevant" theory, is the community-building the "actual point of a library"? I completely agree that libraries have evolved into this role in the US (though my experience in Europe is drastically different). I'm just wondering if there's any sort of organized policy behind the "Library as community center" phenomenon.