3 ms·

Is amount of traffic the best measure of success for a "library"? How about if we take out the books, put in a food court, and supply free video gaming. The pla

by wrp 3y ago

Is amount of traffic the best measure of success for a "library"? How about if we take out the books, put in a food court, and supply free video gaming. The place will be packed. Would that be a successful "library"? I see proposals for changing the nature of libraries to increase public usage. I don't deny that some of the proposed services would be beneficial to the community, but they may not support the core library purpose of supplying information.

MadcapJake 3y ago
The core mission of libraries to provide information has been supplanted by a device that exists in everyone's pocket. Information was a major need once, now it's trivially available. Libraries need to reinvent themselves. Let's convert libraries into on-premise AI supercomputers that anyone can rent time with, would be a good leap into the next age. Or VR rooms (I never have enough space at my house). They need to think bigger than just "info".
- bluGill 3y ago
  Saddly the internet is not nearly as useful as it used to be for finding information. there was always some false information out there, but these days finding anything useful is harder. All the information is obvious AI generated spam.
- BirAdam 3y ago
  Many libraries have added public access computers with internet connectivity. I imagine that when/if cost effective machines capable of running LLMs become available, we will see some libraries add them.
- StableAlkyne 3y ago
  There are plenty of books, textbooks, and journals that just aren't online, and aren't in print anymore. The ones that are online just get squatted by publishers who want to collect rent long after the authors have died. It is frankly absurd to pay $20-$200 for a digital "copy" (so locked down with DRM that you often can't even open it offline) of an out of print book or journal article that you can find at a nearby library.

by wrp 3y ago

MadcapJake 3y ago

The core mission of libraries to provide information has been supplanted by a device that exists in everyone's pocket. Information was a major need once, now it's trivially available. Libraries need to reinvent themselves. Let's convert libraries into on-premise AI supercomputers that anyone can rent time with, would be a good leap into the next age. Or VR rooms (I never have enough space at my house). They need to think bigger than just "info".

bluGill 3y ago
Saddly the internet is not nearly as useful as it used to be for finding information. there was always some false information out there, but these days finding anything useful is harder. All the information is obvious AI generated spam.
BirAdam 3y ago
Many libraries have added public access computers with internet connectivity. I imagine that when/if cost effective machines capable of running LLMs become available, we will see some libraries add them.
StableAlkyne 3y ago
There are plenty of books, textbooks, and journals that just aren't online, and aren't in print anymore. The ones that are online just get squatted by publishers who want to collect rent long after the authors have died. It is frankly absurd to pay $20-$200 for a digital "copy" (so locked down with DRM that you often can't even open it offline) of an out of print book or journal article that you can find at a nearby library.