Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
<<When I go to any of the many public libraries around here (I have cards to all 4 as their holdings are so scanty) I see very few kids (maybe just a few preschoolers with parents), and absolutely no teens. The most activity I see in the smallest library is when the knitters get together, and they are all old. There is a monthly social that draws 40 to 70, and nearly all old. My nieces and nephews all have laptops and ipads, get everything they need for homework research off the Net. Remember when we had to trek down to the dusty stacks to find magazines and newspapers or use microfiche?? Remember trying to thread those d*** reading machines with the film? Kids nowadays get what they need within seconds. My sister, a children's librarian, says the demographic of people coming into her library in MD are preschoolers for story hour, oldsters like us, and flashers. Is it worth building multimillion dollar libraries with this kind of user demographic?...
That's pretty much the way things are like where I live. I live in a fairly affluent suburb - and our local library is pretty much a "senior center". That older people who don't want to be associated with "senior centers" go to. Kids and the like don't use it at all. Robyn
Robyn, it appears the first paragraph you posted is a quote, but you did not post it so that we can click on it to see where it is from or what the reference is. I don't recall seeing it on this thread so I was hoping to look it up and see what led up to this comment. Could you please tell us where you got this quote from?
Sorry to hear the younger people in your community don't use your library. I guess libraries in different areas have different experiences. Ours always has a lot of people of all ages, although of course you don't see many school aged kids during school hours. During Saturdays you'll see lots of them, and lots of kids reading. Yet another reason to love living in VA, I guess.
Why should average taxpayers pay taxes for you so you can read the WSJ?
Because that issue of the Wall Street Journal isn't just there for me to read. Hundred, maybe thousands go to my library every day, and the newspapers are constantly being read by quite a large number of people. Also, because the people where I live think it's a worthwhile thing to spend our taxes on. Since you aren't paying for the libraries in my county, why should you care if we like to have them and think they are valuable?
If you live in a tony suburb like Edina - will you allow people from poor areas of Minneapolis into your libraries to use your computer systems to find jobs - or just kill time surfing worthless web sites?
The answer is yes. How would they know what neighborhood you're from, anyway? Are there libraries that card people before they enter? I've never seen one, but maybe things are different in other cities.
I've also never seen a sign that said "no job searching on the computers, our computers are for killing time only." Seriously why would anyone want to prevent someone from using the computers to search for a job? I believe our library prevents users from being able to access porn sites, but not job sites.
One other note about the classes/meetings/lectures held in the meetings rooms at our library: Taxes don't pay for these events--although I suppose you could argue that tax dollars built the meeting rooms and since they are part of the library taxes pay the heating bill for these rooms. The teachers are volunteers. The library provides chairs and tables, and the librarians keep the schedule of who signs up to use of the room. So my tax dollars pay for the 10 minutes a day that it probably takes to hand people the sign up list. Friends of the library handles most of the organization of these groups; others are community groups who just need a place to meet. The woman who teaches the yoga class volunteers--I suppose what's in it for her is she hopes you will sign up for her yoga school if you get a taste of her teaching at the free library classes. Or maybe she just teaches for fun, just like I help teach a tai chi class at the senior center, even though there's nothing in it for me but a chance to exercise. I take the yoga class and I've never seen her pressure anyone to sign up for her school--she has a flier and if you ask her she'll give it to you.
I agree with everything you have posted. In my city use our libraries for all those things with the exception of the exercise classes as far as I know. Libraries are for public use and supported by the public. Hundreds of people with all types of education, of all classes, of all ages and for all different reasons use them. It makes sense because we all pay taxes to keep the libraries going.
If some of read the WSJ and some of read "Harry Potter" and some of us hold meetings of a science fiction club on Saturday and some hold meetings of a garden society on Sunday it makes no difference. The library is the last bastion of equal utilization for all citizens of a city or suburb or town that should be open to all who live there for whatever purposes needed and not just a select few.
I've had my kindle for a little over a year. Since then, I've only purchased three books, but have downloaded a lot of freebies. However, I only read the Kindle at bedtime.
For reading sources outside of bedtime reading, I go the local library which is located about 1 1/2 miles from my home. I usually go evenings or weekends. It is ALWAYS crowded. All ages.
According to last year's annual report the country library system served 4.8+ million in-person visitors.
Yes, this large, ugly library is always busy during non-school hours.
I think it's cool that regardless of age, income, race, color, political leanings, religion, etc., our county residents support and utilize the services of our libraries. Is this a reflection of the shared values of my community? I believe so. YMMV.
As far as I can remember, from the time I was a kid frequenting libraries, it was one of the more popular places for seniors to go. I think it still is.
In our library, the only person who receives a paycheck is the librarian, and perhaps the cleaning people, though since they only come after hours, I'm not sure they even exist. Everyone else is a volunteer. There is not much of "your tax dollars at work" here.
In the small Southwest FL town where we lived for two years, more than half of the personnel at the local library were also volunteers.
We're all tax payers, from the rich to the poor, so it's a combination of a dime from my money, a quarter from the next person, a nickel from the next, and a penny from the other next, all the money, large and small, were pooled together to pay for all the services that are available to all of us, even though some of us might think since a certain service does not cater to their specific needs, they must have been short changed. Well, another person probably thinks the same way too, when it comes to a different kind of service that s/he never uses but must pay for. No one ever said life is fair.
Last edited by Ol' Wanderer; 02-12-2013 at 08:50 PM..
Yeah, I hope I didn't misrepresent my meaning. When I said tax dollars kept libraries going, I meant tax dollars paid the light bills and the maintenance of the building and that kind of stuff. Not for the meetings, classes and so forth.
I worked in the public library for more than 28 years and know that most people only take advantage of the tip of the iceberg as far as library useage is concerned. Go to your local library and learn what it has to offer and it will enrich our lives. I am talking to myself too.
If I had it to do over again I would visit the library much more than I did before I started working there and I have neglected it again after retiring. I told myself it was like going back to work to go there. It was so strange to be on the other side of the desk.
When I worked in the public library, I always knew everything that was going on in the area. That and the children in storytime are the two things I miss the most. It is hard for older people to keep up with local activities. I am going to work harder in doing that.
Spend at least an hour a week in your local library and see how much more interesting your life will be.
I just remembered a sweet lady that used to come into my one person library every week when I was doing storytime and sometimes had a volunteer keeping the desk and helping people check out. She would spend the entire storytime browsing for books. I would keep reminding her that I could be of more help to her if she would come at another time. Then one day I realized that the children in storytime were her reason for being there. She had taught most of their parents and grandparents when they were in school. I may go visit the library during storytime too!
This is a very sore topic for me and a big part of the reason I want to move to another state.
In my suburb of Phoenix, the library (granted, its a branch) is owned by the high school, and is on the high school grounds. SO every afternoon, around 2 pm a swarm of cars arrives and parks in the lot, takes up space and causes a general feeling of chaos. The backing in and out of a very tight lot will certainly cause a death one of these days. The Moms wait to take their high schoolers home. Or if they don't go home, the students take over the library, talk on their phones, to each other or surf the net. There is even a guard who makes rounds to keep them in tow.
I want to have a real library with all the stuff that Caladium has. I want classes, groups, lectures, a newsletter, a place with comfy chairs (ours are all hard wood, like desks) and less of the rowdy kids. I want more magazines, interesting artwork and a nicer atmosphere. The kids don't use the books; they only are there to meet friends. I don't mind my taxes going to the library, but I would like to get my money's worth one day soon.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Remember trying to thread those d*** reading machines with the film? Kids nowadays get what they need within seconds. My sister, a children's librarian, says the demographic of people coming into her library in MD are preschoolers for story hour, oldsters like us, and flashers. Is it worth building multimillion dollar libraries with this kind of user demographic?...