libraries

[Morgana]

If you're ever passing through Brownsville, Texas, stop at the library (main branch); it's kind of magical. It has a nice little bookstore too, and a coffee shop (don't know how often that's open), and a Veterans Memorial Park next door. Just everything you'd want an urban library to be, somehow with a little extra sparkle.

I was there today and it got me thinking about other cool libraries I've run across over the years. Tuscaloosa, AL, has got a great one -- open and airy and across the street from a fantastic river walking trail ... Bangor, Maine ... the children's library in Gallup, NM (seriously, if you knew Gallup in the bad/rough old days, that library can almost make you cry) ... there's a brand-new-looking, gorgeously designed library somewhere in the middle of the Ocala National Forest in Florida (I can't remember the name of the town) with a nature boardwalk right next door ... and then there's all those Carnegie Libraries (mostly seen and admired from the outside) ...

Life does have its consolations, eh? and they don't waste all your tax money ...

 

[jacqueg]

I think I was about 8 years old the first time I visited a real library. Been a huge fan ever since. I've moved a lot in my life, and the first thing I ask about a new town is how do I get to the library...

 

[eDJ_]

Excellent thread. Since I was a kid riding a bicycle to the library of my town I've learned a lot about what these institutions are and represent to a well informed public. I've seen a lot of changes take place in them especially since the internet.

At one time I dated a Librarian (with a MLS Degree). So often when you walk into a branch library you see clerks serving as Librarians. (they may have been a beautician only last week or a Walmart greeter) They may not be able to be all that helpful and give a negative impression to a patron. But since the 80's there has been a movement to change the image of the "old dowager" with her finger to her lips making "shhhhhhhh" sounds. The Librarian I was involved with showed me a American Libraries Association magazine she had kept which featured "Olive Oyl" (think Popeye the Sailor) on the cover in a cartoon form. It ask how many Librarians it took to change a light bulb. The point of that issue was about changing the general long held image of Librarians. And much has changed.

I'm so glad Morgana posted this thread. Libraries have tried to be progressive and neutral to serve communities and transient people. Even allowing homeless folks to take refuge in them in extreme weather & temperatures.

To me, when I'm out on the road, my main places to rest & relax are places like Fast Food's with WIFI, Gym's like "Planet Fitness" (I belong to) or Libraries.

Today it is possible to get an "eCard" to a library which will allow anyone to use the digital collection of the Library Website. Anyone should investigate this fantastic resource. It can be accessed 24/7 from anywhere. And you would have to browse in it awhile to believe it.

 

[Morgana]

Does anybody else have a favorite?

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I'll stir the pot .....

IMO libraries will greatly diminish in numbers in the next 25 years. It's been a long time since I have entered a library but I constantly borrow books from them. They will not go completely away but they have been passed by technology. There are a number of reasons for this:
- almost everyone has a cell phone, tablet, and data plan,
- younger generations do everything on their phones,
- simple, convenient, trouble free to download e-books,
- no overdue, lost, or damaged e-books,
- almost no labor involved in maintaining e-books,
- local governments are continually strapped for cash,
- very expensive to maintain a physical library.

Larger cities will continue to have a central library, as will colleges and businesses. But the local library will go the way of the card catalog.

My guess borrowing books will morph into a subcription service like i-tunes or Netflix. For most going to the library will be an indulgence like a carriage ride or museum visit.

 

[Morgana]

[said many things including this:]
It's been a long time since I have entered a library

You should try it sometime! You'll see a lot going on.
I get the sense librarians have been working hard to answer exactly the challenges you describe.
And for now at least, they seem to be holding their own -- including, but not only, by providing critically needed internet access. (Not everybody has private Internet access -- just google duckduckgo "digital divide" -- and the shortfalls are especially severe in rural areas.)

Yesterday I saw a guy teaching two kids to play chess, and an obviously not-bookish guy shopping in the bookstore with friendly encouragement from the volunteer ... I've job-hunted in Bangor -- taught English in Albuquerque (volunteer tutoring relies on safe public spaces) -- watched Black Panther (a surprisingly short time after its release) in a room full of little kids in a small town in Florida (one of the more magical experiences of my life) -- and had cooking lessons, done Christmas crafts (the other participants were teenage boys, and their stuff turned out way better than mine), sat in the audience for the annual African-American Read-In event (which was exquisitely catered by an all-white classic southern Women's Club), found a bathroom, used a quiet study room, bought a sandwich, calmed down, cheered up, got out of the sun, browsed and found new authors in a way no digital algorithm can mimic...

Libraries are a lot more than warehouses for paper books. And I've been listening to debates about whether paper books are dead for years, but they're still around too.

I suspect news of both their deaths is greatly exaggerated.

 

[Morgana]

Oh yeah, and -- book clubs of course, art shows, voter registration, yoga, a community garden, a couple seed banks, and even one time a visit by a therapy horse.

The libraries I visit usually seem pretty well attended and lively. Unlike some shopping malls ...

 

[maki2]

Quartzsite library is small. But has a substantial variety of DVD movies that can be checked out. They give library cards to nomads! You can then while camped away from Quartzsite checkout audiobooks, ebooks and a HUGE selection of popular magazines including foreign ones in electronic format. All kinds of subjects of magazines.

Quartzsite library cards are accepted “in person” at the Flagstaff public library. Handy if you head to northern AZ for the summer.

The library for a small fee will photocopy or do printing. They also have some private rooms that can be reserved. That is handy if you need a place to stop and do an important video conference at appointment time, in private, rather than attempting it in your vehicle.

Libraries also have access to online versions of Chiltons car repair manuals and genealogy research sources and to various news paper archives, public records and more. Researching subjects has always been one of their primary functions. It is not there just for pleasure reading. They were always an information highway long before the digital age.

They are not closing down anytime soon, instead they are adapting in new ways including some of them offering space for “makers” functions such as 3D printers and computers with 3D design software on them. Those are newly important resources to support the STEM and STEAM programs being taught in public schools. Which goes along with not all families can afford to provide the educational resources needed for their children to do homework and advanced studies to enhance the classroom learning.

 

[magicman]

All should use the libraries, especially the roadies. Its a sanctuary at times as well as great architecture . My home library in Columbus, Ohio has a perk of art gallery tix as well as minor league baseball and the columbus zoo and more. Support the libraries!!

 

[INTJohn]

When I was in high school there were times I would skip class and go to the high Skool library thinking, “Hell, they’ll never look for me here”. And they never did.

I liked going to the library kawz I could read books that were actually interesting as I always loved Learning; something high schools just don’t teach - unless you consider rote memorization and clerical based brainwashing learning……

Today I would skip school and never go back. With the internet one can get online and read & research things from the best universities in the world. Ivy League, University of Beijing, Moscow, South Africa, Oxford, Cambridge, etc.

Y Not?
INTJohn

 

[bullfrog]

You could back then with the reading list in the “Whole Earth Catalog” from Mother Earth News!

 

[user 22017]

You could back then with the reading list in the “Whole Earth Catalog” from Mother Earth News!

I remember that catalog

I started building websites in 1999 after reading an article in Mother Earth News about jobs you could do from home.

 

[eekalot]

My mom was a librarian...until she retired! I spent many nights as young child in the homes of many "bookies". Did the used bookstore searching every week, nothing like a good book! In the not to distant past, myself and my children were blessed to be involved with a very avid book collector, lots of good memories with books and book people in my life!

Great thread!

 

[eDJ_]

Spiff makes some interesting points. I'm guessing what will make the difference will be the economy or tech innovations in the future.

Tech has already done this with some special Libraries in many instances. (Law Libraries & Medical Libraries where finances for them has never been much of an issue...to name a couple) But general Public Libraries are seen as a haven by so many and support even on Tax ballot items still continues.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

.....
Libraries are a lot more than warehouses for paper books. And I've been listening to debates about whether paper books are dead for years, but they're still around too .....

Most of the non-library functions described are offered in my small no library city (pop. 8000) and the rest are provided in neighboring towns (within 20 miles).

I looked up the budget for the small satellite library near me (12 miles): $435,000 for library staff (not including janitorial/maintenance). That is $435K coming out of working stiff's pockets when everyone budget is stretched.

Community centers will flourish but the warehousing, maintenance, and distribution of A/V and printed materials (the library) will shrivel.

My guess is that by the time used EV's are cheap enough for for the majority of van-lifers the local library will have gone the way of Blockbuster.

 

[vanbrat]

I'll stir the pot .....

IMO libraries will greatly diminish in numbers in the next 25 years. It's been a long time since I have entered a library but I constantly borrow books from them. They will not go completely away but they have been passed by technology. There are a number of reasons for this:
- almost everyone has a cell phone, tablet, and data plan,
- younger generations do everything on their phones,
- simple, convenient, trouble free to download e-books,
- no overdue, lost, or damaged e-books,
- almost no labor involved in maintaining e-books,
- local governments are continually strapped for cash,
- very expensive to maintain a physical library.

Larger cities will continue to have a central library, as will colleges and businesses. But the local library will go the way of the card catalog.

My guess borrowing books will morph into a subcription service like i-tunes or Netflix. For most going to the library will be an indulgence like a carriage ride or museum visit.

I use my phone to go to the library and reserve books.

 

[vanbrat]

The one in Salem Or. is great even has a place for movies to play or it did before we moved away.....
There is even a good park around it for picnics.

 

[lonerwolf52]

If you're ever passing through Brownsville, Texas, stop at the library (main branch); it's kind of magical. It has a nice little bookstore too, and a coffee shop (don't know how often that's open), and a Veterans Memorial Park next door. Just everything you'd want an urban library to be, somehow with a little extra sparkle.

I was there today and it got me thinking about other cool libraries I've run across over the years. Tuscaloosa, AL, has got a great one -- open and airy and across the street from a fantastic river walking trail ... Bangor, Maine ... the children's library in Gallup, NM (seriously, if you knew Gallup in the bad/rough old days, that library can almost make you cry) ... there's a brand-new-looking, gorgeously designed library somewhere in the middle of the Ocala National Forest in Florida (I can't remember the name of the town) with a nature boardwalk right next door ... and then there's all those Carnegie Libraries (mostly seen and admired from the outside) ...

Life does have its consolations, eh? and they don't waste all your tax money ...

I always find the nearest library when I travel. I read a lot! The library has books removed from the shelf for sale. All libraries do this. When Goodwill is charging $3.29 for a hard back book and the library sells them for $1.00 or less it's a no brainer! They sell DVD's also.

 

[lonerwolf52]

I think I was about 8 years old the first time I visited a real library. Been a huge fan ever since. I've moved a lot in my life, and the first thing I ask about a new town is how do I get to the library...

Ditto. Discovered the library very young. Always search for the library wherever I go in my wanderings.

 

[lonerwolf52]

W

I'll stir the pot .....

IMO libraries will greatly diminish in numbers in the next 25 years. It's been a long time since I have entered a library but I constantly borrow books from them. They will not go completely away but they have been passed by technology. There are a number of reasons for this:
- almost everyone has a cell phone, tablet, and data plan,
- younger generations do everything on their phones,
- simple, convenient, trouble free to download e-books,
- no overdue, lost, or damaged e-books,
- almost no labor involved in maintaining e-books,
- local governments are continually strapped for cash,
- very expensive to maintain a physical library.

Larger cities will continue to have a central library, as will colleges and businesses. But the local library will go the way of the card catalog.

My guess borrowing books will morph into a subcription service like i-tunes or Netflix. For most going to the library will be an indulgence like a carriage ride or museum visit.

WEll they do have Lilly. You can check books out on line and read them when they're available.