5 ms·

So why aren't real libraries like this? Can you fund the internet the same way?

DoctorOW 1y ago
The equivalent of the library for online research IS real libraries. Your library card likely gives you access to ad free online resources, I know mine does and I've been a patron of several libraries as I've moved around.
hnbad 1y ago
Because real libraries are not for-profit enterprises and have a negative (or at least extremely unimpressive) ARR. Incidentally their leadership positions also don't provide anywhere near the levels of compensation you'd expect for a C-level position at an equally large company. Asking for "the Internet" to be funded the same way as real libraries is quite the contrary to the dominant cultural narrative which asks for public services and entire governments to be operated "like a business", which usually means cutting funding, selling assets, doing layoffs and eventually scrapping it for parts once it has become predictably defunct.
fancyfredbot 1y ago
In the UK 190 libraries have been closed in the last five years. Before closure some of these only opened 2 days a week. It's common for libraries which remain open to be staffed by unpaid volunteers. My point is that the funding model for libraries is not exactly a massive success! I expect these libraries would have accepted advertising funding before they chose closure. I'm not aware of any advertising funded libraries although I'm sure the idea has been considered. I think that in the physical world the cost per visitor in a library is probably too high for such a funding model to be successful. Also the library is not typically visited by the highest value advertising targets limiting the amount which can be raised this way. I think these are probably the real reason why real libraries aren't like this!
- graemep 1y ago
  I think that is more the result of bad government than anything else. Libraries are a low profile resource with long term benefits (e.g. improving education and quality of life) in ways that are not immediately captured by metrics. They are incredibly good value for money, if you understand the benefits and take a long view. However, politically they are an easy thing to cut.
  - fancyfredbot 1y ago
    This is nothing to do with libraries being good or bad value though. Libraries are not advertising funded because advertisers are not very interested. If advertisers were interested then these libraries would likely be just as infested with adverts as the internet. If we tried to fund the internet in the same way as libraries advertisers would still be strongly incentivised to show adverts and would still work hard to find ways to do so. So it's not clear the situation would change much if there was government funding for content creators.

The equivalent of the library for online research IS real libraries. Your library card likely gives you access to ad free online resources, I know mine does and I've been a patron of several libraries as I've moved around.

hnbad 1y ago

Because real libraries are not for-profit enterprises and have a negative (or at least extremely unimpressive) ARR. Incidentally their leadership positions also don't provide anywhere near the levels of compensation you'd expect for a C-level position at an equally large company. Asking for "the Internet" to be funded the same way as real libraries is quite the contrary to the dominant cultural narrative which asks for public services and entire governments to be operated "like a business", which usually means cutting funding, selling assets, doing layoffs and eventually scrapping it for parts once it has become predictably defunct.

fancyfredbot 1y ago

In the UK 190 libraries have been closed in the last five years. Before closure some of these only opened 2 days a week. It's common for libraries which remain open to be staffed by unpaid volunteers. My point is that the funding model for libraries is not exactly a massive success! I expect these libraries would have accepted advertising funding before they chose closure. I'm not aware of any advertising funded libraries although I'm sure the idea has been considered. I think that in the physical world the cost per visitor in a library is probably too high for such a funding model to be successful. Also the library is not typically visited by the highest value advertising targets limiting the amount which can be raised this way. I think these are probably the real reason why real libraries aren't like this!

graemep 1y ago
I think that is more the result of bad government than anything else. Libraries are a low profile resource with long term benefits (e.g. improving education and quality of life) in ways that are not immediately captured by metrics. They are incredibly good value for money, if you understand the benefits and take a long view. However, politically they are an easy thing to cut.
- fancyfredbot 1y ago
  This is nothing to do with libraries being good or bad value though. Libraries are not advertising funded because advertisers are not very interested. If advertisers were interested then these libraries would likely be just as infested with adverts as the internet. If we tried to fund the internet in the same way as libraries advertisers would still be strongly incentivised to show adverts and would still work hard to find ways to do so. So it's not clear the situation would change much if there was government funding for content creators.