5 ms·

The next/current phase of the library and librarian is as a community center, and not exactly a center of information. Instead it will be eyed for its physical

The next/current phase of the library and librarian is as a community center, and not exactly a center of information. Instead it will be eyed for its physical accommodations for purposes like student meeting rooms, or tutors who rent rooms to sell their services.

Loughla 2y ago
That has been a thing for about a decade. Librarians and libraries are more like community outreach centers now that you can Google anything. Many are struggling to help people with media literacy, and I don't know of any that are really doing a great job with that.
- trollbridge 2y ago
  Mine has rooms to park your kids in with cartoons playing on a TV. I want my kids to be interested in reading, not watching cartoons. When I discussed this with them, their answer was "Well, kids aren't that interested in books anymore."
  - UtopiaPunk 2y ago
    Oof, that's too bad. The libraries near me are great for my toddler. They do story time and play time, and it's a good chance for my kid to play with other kids. My kiddo always checks out a book (or three) when we visit.
  - __MatrixMan__ 2y ago
    Mine has 3d printers and laser cutters. I don't have kids but if I did I wouldn't mind having a place to park them while my print finished. Ideally they'd be interested in more enriching activities, but I'm sympathetic to the idea that that's maybe harder than it sounds.
  - mingus88 2y ago
    That’s a parenting problem. Can’t blame the library. They need to meet people where the are. When I had a kid I made a vow that I would immediately buy them any book they showed interest in. Any other toy or game would be a discussion but books, anytime anywhere. And we put up bookshelves, so they would always have books nearby. There was a study I read where just the existence of books was beneficial, regardless of how much reading was done. https://www.jcfs.org/blog/importance-having-books-your-home https://www.jcfs.org/blog/importance-having-books-your-home Finally, I read to them every night I could. Just 10 minutes a night. Then you just put limits on screens. Let them get bored. They will start reading on their own, and when they do it’s just amazing.
    - trollbridge 2y ago
      Well, as a parent, I’d prefer my kids not be exposed to screens at the library of all places. We have a great deal of books in our house including ones for children but I’d like them to grow up with the curiosity had to explore the library. It’s a real pain in the neck when they have a room with cartoons in it, which kids will especially gravitate to if you limit their screen time at home (which we do).
      - john_the_writer 2y ago
        Yeah that blows my mind. Of all places I'd not expect a cartoon to be. There are so many books kids could read. I don't see how a librarian can view a screen as anything they'd allow in their building. My kids daycare added a TV. The "teachers" said it was allowed by law. I said sure and pulled them out. Sucked because they'd just replaced most of the staff and the new staff was pro-tv while the old staff had never once turned on a TV.
        deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]
        trollbridge 2y ago
        One thing I appreciate at (some) YMCAs is that their childwatch is TV screen free, including my one locally and the one that's next door to my doctor's office. (We like to combine doctor visits or checkups with a trip to the YMCA if we're well enough to go.) I avoid the childwatch at the YMCA that has a couple of screens, although it's otherwise excellent. A trend in (some) libraries is to put technology everywhere - iPads for example (which I consider a very clunky way to search the library catalog). I'm assuming these things get bought via grants. If I go to the library, I want to deal with books, not computers which access the exact same stuff I could get at home. A separate computer room with actual, real, desktop computers available for people to use is fine.
  - Aeolun 2y ago
    Weird. Our libraries have dedicated rooms for kids to read. And to study. It’s incredibly convenient. What I haven’t seen is TV’s.
dugmartin 2y ago
Yes - they built a huge new library in the town next over as the old one was overflowing with books and then only moved about 1/5 of the books over when it was completed. They disappeared the entire CS section. But it has about 5 unused meeting rooms, an unused “media maker space” and an enormous light filled open second floor area with two couches.
- mingus88 2y ago
  If your CS section is anything like the “computers” aisles I see here, good riddance. I would rather see open space than shelves of outdated Dummies books. We need to bring back “third places” (not home, not work/school) and libraries are excellent at providing that. You don’t need to buy anything, you can stay as long as you want, and there is ample community space to socialize. Without a third place, folk just end up wasting their time online and tanking their mental health. Those connections aren’t real. I truly feel that the rise of LLMs will devalue online interactions to the point where in person interaction is the only thing we trust and value. And we will be better off for it.
  - elijahwright 2y ago
    My favorite places as a kid were libraries - they provided the opportunity for exposure and enrichment that I would have otherwise lacked. They are so much oh-holy-shit important, especially if you want to advance beyond the means of whatever dinky little town you happen to live in. I am significantly different and better because I had access to lots of materials to read - not money, just access. I owe very much to a school librarian and a town librarian in Wilkes county NC - they absolutely changed my life for the better. If I thought they might still be living I would love to tell them so. (Each of them would be over 100 years old now…)
- p_l 2y ago
  The trick to handle it well is easy access to catalog and ability to recall books from storage. Another superpower in some countries is the inter library loan - you might need to befriend the local library to utilise it fully, but a classmate of mine in high school used it as effectively free pass to university libraries that you can't borrow books from when you're not suffering or faculty.

Loughla 2y ago

That has been a thing for about a decade. Librarians and libraries are more like community outreach centers now that you can Google anything. Many are struggling to help people with media literacy, and I don't know of any that are really doing a great job with that.

trollbridge 2y ago
Mine has rooms to park your kids in with cartoons playing on a TV. I want my kids to be interested in reading, not watching cartoons. When I discussed this with them, their answer was "Well, kids aren't that interested in books anymore."
- UtopiaPunk 2y ago
  Oof, that's too bad. The libraries near me are great for my toddler. They do story time and play time, and it's a good chance for my kid to play with other kids. My kiddo always checks out a book (or three) when we visit.
- __MatrixMan__ 2y ago
  Mine has 3d printers and laser cutters. I don't have kids but if I did I wouldn't mind having a place to park them while my print finished. Ideally they'd be interested in more enriching activities, but I'm sympathetic to the idea that that's maybe harder than it sounds.
- mingus88 2y ago
  That’s a parenting problem. Can’t blame the library. They need to meet people where the are. When I had a kid I made a vow that I would immediately buy them any book they showed interest in. Any other toy or game would be a discussion but books, anytime anywhere. And we put up bookshelves, so they would always have books nearby. There was a study I read where just the existence of books was beneficial, regardless of how much reading was done. https://www.jcfs.org/blog/importance-having-books-your-home https://www.jcfs.org/blog/importance-having-books-your-home Finally, I read to them every night I could. Just 10 minutes a night. Then you just put limits on screens. Let them get bored. They will start reading on their own, and when they do it’s just amazing.
  - trollbridge 2y ago
    Well, as a parent, I’d prefer my kids not be exposed to screens at the library of all places. We have a great deal of books in our house including ones for children but I’d like them to grow up with the curiosity had to explore the library. It’s a real pain in the neck when they have a room with cartoons in it, which kids will especially gravitate to if you limit their screen time at home (which we do).
    - john_the_writer 2y ago
      Yeah that blows my mind. Of all places I'd not expect a cartoon to be. There are so many books kids could read. I don't see how a librarian can view a screen as anything they'd allow in their building. My kids daycare added a TV. The "teachers" said it was allowed by law. I said sure and pulled them out. Sucked because they'd just replaced most of the staff and the new staff was pro-tv while the old staff had never once turned on a TV.
      - deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]
      - trollbridge 2y ago
        One thing I appreciate at (some) YMCAs is that their childwatch is TV screen free, including my one locally and the one that's next door to my doctor's office. (We like to combine doctor visits or checkups with a trip to the YMCA if we're well enough to go.) I avoid the childwatch at the YMCA that has a couple of screens, although it's otherwise excellent. A trend in (some) libraries is to put technology everywhere - iPads for example (which I consider a very clunky way to search the library catalog). I'm assuming these things get bought via grants. If I go to the library, I want to deal with books, not computers which access the exact same stuff I could get at home. A separate computer room with actual, real, desktop computers available for people to use is fine.
- Aeolun 2y ago
  Weird. Our libraries have dedicated rooms for kids to read. And to study. It’s incredibly convenient. What I haven’t seen is TV’s.

dugmartin 2y ago

Yes - they built a huge new library in the town next over as the old one was overflowing with books and then only moved about 1/5 of the books over when it was completed. They disappeared the entire CS section. But it has about 5 unused meeting rooms, an unused “media maker space” and an enormous light filled open second floor area with two couches.

mingus88 2y ago
If your CS section is anything like the “computers” aisles I see here, good riddance. I would rather see open space than shelves of outdated Dummies books. We need to bring back “third places” (not home, not work/school) and libraries are excellent at providing that. You don’t need to buy anything, you can stay as long as you want, and there is ample community space to socialize. Without a third place, folk just end up wasting their time online and tanking their mental health. Those connections aren’t real. I truly feel that the rise of LLMs will devalue online interactions to the point where in person interaction is the only thing we trust and value. And we will be better off for it.
- elijahwright 2y ago
  My favorite places as a kid were libraries - they provided the opportunity for exposure and enrichment that I would have otherwise lacked. They are so much oh-holy-shit important, especially if you want to advance beyond the means of whatever dinky little town you happen to live in. I am significantly different and better because I had access to lots of materials to read - not money, just access. I owe very much to a school librarian and a town librarian in Wilkes county NC - they absolutely changed my life for the better. If I thought they might still be living I would love to tell them so. (Each of them would be over 100 years old now…)
p_l 2y ago
The trick to handle it well is easy access to catalog and ability to recall books from storage. Another superpower in some countries is the inter library loan - you might need to befriend the local library to utilise it fully, but a classmate of mine in high school used it as effectively free pass to university libraries that you can't borrow books from when you're not suffering or faculty.