4 ms·

How much do libraries matter now? Hard to say they matter as much as several decades ago.

by ITB 3y ago

ilrwbwrkhv 3y ago
There just has been a whole distrust with academia and places of learning due to corruption, bureaucracy and political ideologies as the central organizing force. It's so sad. Instead of courageously chasing truth, hiding behind these things is easier. Universities, libraries are some of the best things humans have come up with. Libraries also fall in a similar place. We need to rebuild the trust and value in the populace to chase objective truth without having to commit to any ideology.
- dartos 3y ago
  I mean sure, but why would Joe random citizen ever go to a library when Wikipedia exists? Seems like libraries are _only_ for academics and record keepers now. Makes sense they’re facing issues
  - ilrwbwrkhv 3y ago
    Because again we have not made learning fun. It is no longer cool to be learned.
  - bagful 3y ago
    A Wikipedia article is at best a shallow introduction to a subject that wouldn’t fill out one chapter in a cheap paperback; and at worst a fact-hoarder’s opiate, an indiscriminate mass of motivated opinion and decontextualized facts that really only serve as edutainment. I used to think the internet democratized information, and then I learned about books. Article-readers don’t know what they miss out on; in its current form, the internet primarily serves to make people feel informed. I find that far more insidious than censorship.
userinanother 3y ago
[flagged]
derstander 3y ago
> How much do libraries matter now? Hard to say they matter as much as several decades ago. Why wouldn’t they? Is the idea that a person can get any content a library might offer online (and for free, if willing to pirate it)? I can’t disagree with that, though if you’re not ok with pirating things then I think the value is enormous. I think libraries are more than just the sum of the books, CDs, and DVDs on the shelves. In my experience they often have discounts to area activities (e.g., museums), offer classes and activities across the age spectrum (from story time for children to tech help geared toward the elderly or just the tech disinclined), and provide a nexus for community. I think folks that haven’t been to a library in awhile would be pleasantly surprised with what they offer nowadays — though of course I only have personal experience with libraries across a few states in the northeast. It’s totally possible that I’m spoiled and don’t even know it.
- 4death4 3y ago
  > Why wouldn’t they? Because their primary purpose was to provide open access to literature and information, which is now widely available thanks to the internet.
  - galdosdi 3y ago
    > open access to literature and information, which is now widely available thanks to the internet. Citation needed. If you don't have money and aren't willing to pirate, what you can get on the internet is quite limited. There's Wikipedia and Project Gutenberg. A lot of the most reliable knowledge is still locked up in books, because the internet is disproportionately used for entertainment, advertising, etc
    - 4death4 3y ago
      Most information was locked up in the hay day of libraries as well. It’s not like your local library contained every book that has ever existed. But, back then, if your library didn’t have it then you had almost no chance of even knowing it existed. There is simply vastly more information available, for free, on the internet. I’m actually surprised you’re asking for a citation. I would be very interested in seeing evidence that more information was available in libraries than is currently available on the internet.
meristohm 3y ago
Fair question so I upvoted. Your life experience may well be very different than mine. My first memorable taste of freedom in a public space as a child was in a library; my parent left me in the kid section and I was so happy about that, exploring the space and the books. I have not stopped feeling joy and wonder upon entering a library. So much potential! So much to explore! Public libraries allow me and my family to access so many more books than we can reasonably pay for, paid for collectively with tax money, which benefits so many people: job training, access to educational and entertainment media, access to a public restroom, access to a librarian who can help answer questions, and a generally calm and quiet space to simply exist.
_lvbh 3y ago
Yes. When I was a kid, my family couldn’t afford electronics and internet access. Used to stay in the school library every day until 7 pm to read. I’m much more well off now but there are probably still multitudes of families where libraries are the only source of free learning materials.

How much do libraries matter now? Hard to say they matter as much as several decades ago.

by ITB 3y ago

How much do libraries matter now? Hard to say they matter as much as several decades ago.

There just has been a whole distrust with academia and places of learning due to corruption, bureaucracy and political ideologies as the central organizing force. It's so sad. Instead of courageously chasing truth, hiding behind these things is easier. Universities, libraries are some of the best things humans have come up with. Libraries also fall in a similar place. We need to rebuild the trust and value in the populace to chase objective truth without having to commit to any ideology.

dartos 3y ago
I mean sure, but why would Joe random citizen ever go to a library when Wikipedia exists? Seems like libraries are _only_ for academics and record keepers now. Makes sense they’re facing issues
- ilrwbwrkhv 3y ago
  Because again we have not made learning fun. It is no longer cool to be learned.
- bagful 3y ago
  A Wikipedia article is at best a shallow introduction to a subject that wouldn’t fill out one chapter in a cheap paperback; and at worst a fact-hoarder’s opiate, an indiscriminate mass of motivated opinion and decontextualized facts that really only serve as edutainment. I used to think the internet democratized information, and then I learned about books. Article-readers don’t know what they miss out on; in its current form, the internet primarily serves to make people feel informed. I find that far more insidious than censorship.

userinanother 3y ago

[flagged]

derstander 3y ago

> How much do libraries matter now? Hard to say they matter as much as several decades ago. Why wouldn’t they? Is the idea that a person can get any content a library might offer online (and for free, if willing to pirate it)? I can’t disagree with that, though if you’re not ok with pirating things then I think the value is enormous. I think libraries are more than just the sum of the books, CDs, and DVDs on the shelves. In my experience they often have discounts to area activities (e.g., museums), offer classes and activities across the age spectrum (from story time for children to tech help geared toward the elderly or just the tech disinclined), and provide a nexus for community. I think folks that haven’t been to a library in awhile would be pleasantly surprised with what they offer nowadays — though of course I only have personal experience with libraries across a few states in the northeast. It’s totally possible that I’m spoiled and don’t even know it.

4death4 3y ago
> Why wouldn’t they? Because their primary purpose was to provide open access to literature and information, which is now widely available thanks to the internet.
- galdosdi 3y ago
  > open access to literature and information, which is now widely available thanks to the internet. Citation needed. If you don't have money and aren't willing to pirate, what you can get on the internet is quite limited. There's Wikipedia and Project Gutenberg. A lot of the most reliable knowledge is still locked up in books, because the internet is disproportionately used for entertainment, advertising, etc
  - 4death4 3y ago
    Most information was locked up in the hay day of libraries as well. It’s not like your local library contained every book that has ever existed. But, back then, if your library didn’t have it then you had almost no chance of even knowing it existed. There is simply vastly more information available, for free, on the internet. I’m actually surprised you’re asking for a citation. I would be very interested in seeing evidence that more information was available in libraries than is currently available on the internet.

meristohm 3y ago

Fair question so I upvoted. Your life experience may well be very different than mine. My first memorable taste of freedom in a public space as a child was in a library; my parent left me in the kid section and I was so happy about that, exploring the space and the books. I have not stopped feeling joy and wonder upon entering a library. So much potential! So much to explore! Public libraries allow me and my family to access so many more books than we can reasonably pay for, paid for collectively with tax money, which benefits so many people: job training, access to educational and entertainment media, access to a public restroom, access to a librarian who can help answer questions, and a generally calm and quiet space to simply exist.

_lvbh 3y ago

Yes. When I was a kid, my family couldn’t afford electronics and internet access. Used to stay in the school library every day until 7 pm to read. I’m much more well off now but there are probably still multitudes of families where libraries are the only source of free learning materials.