I hate to say this but I think libraries are a thing of the past. The same with newspapers. The INet has made them obsolete.

I bet sparknotes users are happy about this! As a book nerd myself, this really, really sucks. 2 million prisoners in our prisons and little results of betterment for the majority of them while libraries are being closed down. All the economic recovery goes for the bankers, not for the people.

Originally posted by damwel
I hate to say this but I think libraries are a thing of the past. The same with newspapers. The INet has made them obsolete.

I have to disagree. The convenience of the internet is excellent as it is bad in that any student can go online and slap together an essay from various sites without doing any actual research. You learn a lot more from going to a library, picking a topic, and seeing various books on it, skimming through them all, finding more interesting things than you would online as internet sources can be unreliable. I like books and library. They are a break for the eyes viewing one screen to the next such as going from your computer to a Kindle, from one machine to another and another. There is realness in going to libraries.

Newspapers, on the other hand, I would say they are of the past but who gets up for breakfast and unfold their laptop to read? lol. Anyway, libraries should remain a vital part of society.

Originally posted by damwel
I hate to say this but I think libraries are a thing of the past. The same with newspapers. The INet has made them obsolete.

I suspect that while what you are saying is true, it's only for the time being. Eventually people will return to print. Maybe not newspapers (unless they actually start employing the tools of journalism again) but certainly books.

The Internet is fine and dandy, as long as you don't mind someone being able to turn the pages for you, or skip content entirely.

Print media is a dying breed as soon as devices like the Kindle really take off. The fact the the matter is that digital just makes 10x more sense for textual information because you can store 10x the ammount of data in a fraction of the space when comparing say USB storage devices against a shelf full of library books.

I have two books on my USB key right now totaling roughly 1800 pages of information on just two topics, yet they take up less space than a pack of cigarettes, in order to carry that same information around with me when at work and doing side projects it would add several pounds to a bag or backpack.

As for comments about " who gets up for breakfast and unfold their laptop to read?" its actually far more common than you think, many people go check their blackberry or email first thing in the morning rather than turn on the TV or walk out front and get the paper. Plus for all the green freaks out there you have the benefit of not creating mountains of printed volumes which may only be read once or twice (such as most fiction novels) and end up being wasted space and resources.

I say Libraries need a 21st century update.... Keep the books and whatnot cuz really nothing replaces reading a gool ol book...But why not create some kind of kool new computer interactiojn... Add more computer and hotspots and such, make it more of an information center but updated...
If people knew more of what was at the Library they would probably go more often... then again the internet is slowly killing any other forms of media as the internet succesfully manages to improve upon old standards

It doesn't surprise me. Libraries are one of the first things to go when budgets balloon. When I lived in California 15 years ago they shut all the libraries doors when Orange County when bankrupt. Remember that?

Truth be told, local libraries nowadays are simply places for the homeless to seek refuge in bad weather, and public toilets so they can wash on a regular basis.

Any person who WANTS a computer can find all the information they need right at their fingertips.

Yes books are awesome, we all love books. Computers are taking over.

Originally posted by brocket99
Truth be told, local libraries nowadays are simply places for the homeless to seek refuge in bad weather, and public toilets so they can wash on a regular basis.

Any person who WANTS a computer can find all the information they need right at their fingertips.

Yes books are awesome, we all love books. Computers are taking over.

I think in urban areas that is true but rural and suburban libraries in my area overflow with toddlers in reading programs, tweens and highschoolers doing research for school projects and seniors reading newspapers. My kids got addicted to reading becuase of the selection of books at our library

Long live free books!!!

I've been a big city public librarian, a private university librarian and am now a small-town public librarian.

The big-city libraries are notoriously overextended and underused. They're built and halfass funded by politicians who want to keep their offices. They're funded mainly from the redistributed and extorted pool of federal loot.

The city libraries are constantly in threat of closure. Most city systems consist of a large central library and a ridiculous number of satellite libraries. The satellites are horrible money pits that suck up funds from the residents of the city, state and country. They're always used as threats to convince people they need to pay more in taxes that will continue to go to such waste.

Dont get all huffy that the cities are closing their satellite branches. That's what they want you to do. Then you'll cry and beg for more taxation. You'll get that taxation but the threat of closure will never go away. This is one of the reasons I left being a big-city librarian. Every week we were being threatened with closure by some politician wanting to raise taxes. Between me and you, according to budget the threat was far from true most weeks.

Cities who spend beyond their means get exactly what they deserve. I dont go around expecting people to just hand me money. Why do the cities just expect the state and the fed to keep funneling them money?

*I realize it's the branches as well as the central library that are closing in this case. The reality of overspending and over-promising politicians remains the same.

In this 'recession' libraries across the country have seen a revival in patronage and use. People who have never step foot into one are just now discovering all the materials that are there for them and all the librarians are capable of doing for them. Patronage is at record levels.

It's a shame Phily couldnt manage itself better. But no city seems to be capable of properly managing itself.