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The library is one of the last places where you can exist without the expectation of buying something. I’m not some anti-capitalist at all, but I do recognize t
by samtho 3y ago
The library is one of the last places where you can exist without the expectation of buying something. I’m not some anti-capitalist at all, but I do recognize the role in which public facilities like the library play. Ideally, they provide a space essential for free and open access, within in a local community, free at the point of delivery.
- secstate 3y agoThat's a pretty brilliant observation. On nice days, public parks look similar to the library (and increasingly have the same vagrancy and drug problems, ha!). But public parks don't need staff like a library so it's less obvious who's job it should be to kick everyone out at night.
- Terr_ 3y agoI've seen that observation a lot, the oldest expression of it I can find (with the key phrase "expectation of buying something") is from this union publication in July 2018: > A library is one of the last truly public spaces, where you can go to get out of the elements or meet with people without the expectation of buying something. [0] https://www.afscme.org/blog/camden-county-library-workers-ratify-contract-after-a-year-of-activism https://www.afscme.org/blog/camden-county-library-workers-ra...
- chrisco255 3y agoI go to state and national parks all the time. You don't really see vagrancy problems in the majority of them, but they all have park rangers whose job it is to police that. Many parks, of course, let you camp overnight up to two weeks at a time.
- dolmen 3y agoThis is about city parks.
- chrisco255 3y agoI also go to city parks all the time. You don't get these problems outside of the major cities.
- seabass-labrax 3y agoInteresting you should say that, because as a British person I have never encountered a public park in which one is not allowed to be at night. Public parks of course need some staff, but maybe they would be better if they didn't have them: the two gardeners for my local public park have been nicknamed 'Rack' and 'Ruin' due to their extreme approach to dead-heading..!
- PJDK 3y agoThe Royal parks in London generally close at night. Interestingly some of the parks ar "commons" as in common land and so can't be closed!
- loeg 3y agoYou can visit lots of commercial spaces without buying something as long as you're polite and not smelly.
- mbrameld 3y agoBut the expectation that you will buy something is still there.
- aaomidi 3y agoSome won’t even let you use the bathroom if you’re not buying stuff.
- loeg 3y agoNo, unless you're using "expectation" in a way that significantly differs from the common meaning. Browsing without buying is extremely common and expected.
- skyyler 3y agoBrowsing would imply that you're looking for things to purchase, wouldn't it?
- loeg 3y agoNo, it's a perfectly valid outcome to not buy something.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- deredede 3y agoYeah, but that does not imply you will find what you're looking for, or that you want to buy it immediately (e.g. you have something else afterwards where it would be inconvenient to carry what you bought and prefer coming back another day).
- PJDK 3y agoI've seen this notion a few times, but I think it bares some scrutiny. What places used to exist that no longer do where you can exist without the expectation of buying something? Thinking about it, libraries are unusual in that they have no cost at all to enter. Top of my head only religious buildings seem to be similar in that regards. There's quite a lot of options as far as no expectations to buy anything, but you need to pay some kind of fee - sport's centres, clubs that sort of thing. (One might argue they often contain a shop/cafe, but I'd argue you don't go there to use those, and they are very optional)