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Please help save our books and libraries by signing real petition from Citizen Defending Libraries.
Brooklyn Public Library want to take away Brooklyn Heights Library for luxury condo with small library space. There will be no business library or children's room.
Some of NYC Public Libraries are storing some research books into NJ Warehouse, resulting empoty bookshelves.
Are physical libraries going the way of the dodo? It's been years since I've been in one since getting a kindle. The last time I went, over a decade ago, they had a lot of vhs tapes and other non book activities. Like everyone was on the computer. My cousin went with her kid today. She told me they offer art classes to children. I feel like not a lot of reading is going on most libraries. I'm sure big ones or ones that work with say schools get a lot of traffic, but what about libraries in small towns. I wonder if in the future if we'll have physical libraries.
My local city library has the best selection of ebooks around, paid or free. Amazon's Kindle store does not measure up, and I don't have to pay. The physical facilities are well-attended, though I have to admit I don't make much use of them myself.
Libraries will have to change. They offered laserdiscs, VHS, CDs, now DVDs and ebooks. Some will fail because they don't adapt, but the better ones will probably see opportunities to expand their reach.
Physical libraries are alive and well. Granted these days some of them carry almost as many CDs and DVDs in their collection as books. And most have PCs for patron usage. We visit our area libraries all of the time. What I find a distressing trend within the last, let's say, 10-15 years is that they are no longer necessarily areas of silence. Once upon a time you kept quiet in a library out of respect to other people reading, doing research. What I've noticed is that the cell phone phenomenon has even infiltrated there. People's phones ringing while they are sitting in, walking around the library and they take them out and start talking right in the middle of the library. COME ON PEOPLE!! Have a little respect for other patrons that need silence to do research/read/study. The same goes for your loud conversations with other patrons in the library. We are becoming a very rude, very inconsiderate society when it comes to respecting others peace and quiet...
Our in Miami Dade County are underfunded and are considered obsolete as there is the belief most kids can do research online. I find it hard to believe quality research can be conducted online as either the works are pre-copyright complete access, recent publication limited googlebooks access, blogs and other unvetted sites, or a few articles freely available. Not really a good grounding when teaching novices how to research, critque, distill, compose information.
Love the library! First think I do when I move to a new town is get a library card. The Library in my area is doing really well, the parking lot is usually full or close to it. Many people using the computers, children reading times etc.
When Half books opened a store nearby I sold books back to them a couple of times. But you get so little really that I said screw it and went back to donating all my unwanted books and DVD's etc. to the library. If they don't put it on the shelf they resell it.
We can borrow from two great libraries in Portland. One is being renovated to accommodate the influx of new readers to our city. Many libraries are helping the homeless by providing them a safe haven during the day. Our library helped a homeless family get back on their feet last year.
Clip:
Jeffery Bailey spends nearly every day at his public library.
It's not just that he loves books. For the 43-year-old who sleeps in a tent outside a local church, the library is pretty much the only place he can go that won't charge him to provide safety, warmth, useful services and entertainment.
Most libraries today offer free downloads of ebooks. Just ask the librarian how. You can download a book to your kindle for free. The original purpose of public libraries in the US was so that everyone, rich or poor, could have access to books and other information. It was a democratic movement to make things fair to all.
In the old days there were subscription libraries and only those who could pay could have access to learning.
Most libraries are part of a network so that if your own library doesn't own the book or have access to the ebook (cd, dvd, whatever) they can get it for you. Our library has book discussion groups and although our town library usually only reads fiction, I can go to neighboring towns where the books they read are more interesting to me. There's story hour for little kids and for kids who are learning to read, there is reading to dogs. Apparently some kids who don't like to read will learn to love reading when they are reading to a dog. Anyway, I love libraries and I have a new book on hold and can't wait for it to come in.
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Apparently some kids who don't like to read will learn to love reading when they are reading to a dog. Anyway, I love libraries and I have a new book on hold and can't wait for it to come in.
