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Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
68,329 posts, read 54,400,252 times
Reputation: 40736
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cida
Good point! And I don't know which is stranger, since they're sort of at opposite ends of the spectrum!
I just don't understand how anyone could consider libraries a waste of taxpayers' $$$. I'm fortunate to have a branch of my county's library system within walking distance and both the facility and staff are great! They have programs for groups ranging from kids to seniors as well as books, audio CDs, DVDs available for loan as well as computers available for use by the public.
I walked through the library in the local town. To be blunt, my home library is better - MUCH better. Considering that the library has the power to JAIL over an overdue book, fuggedaboutit. I don't even bother to apply for a library card.
I walked through the library at the local college/university. Many of the periodicals had pages and stories literally ripped out. Nice. Apparently the students think that eating the articles that are educational will help their grades, and tossing the ones that have anti-Christian values, like those in Popular Mechanics, will keep the college pure. In an "upgrade" at that library, all of the bound volumes of National Geographic were tossed. (Was it the naked natives pictures that caused this?) Fortunately, I have my own set going back to 1914, when it was a valuable resource. I only lost access to ten years of those issues, as their set wasn't complete. The empty area where the library stacks of Geographics were now affords a nice view of the restroom entrances over some uncomfortable benches. They haven't yet done a F 451 on Ben Franklin's books, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happened.
The Huntsville Main Library is in general an excellent library but - wait for it - on Friday it closes at 4 PM. Just in time for geeky kids with weekend homework assignments to go "Huh??? WTF???"
A $25/hr wage for a librarian in a rural community where the average wage is $13 is an affront. Sorry, but it is just a fact of life. A vote is one of the few places where people can express their displeasure over wage discrepancies. Trust me, liberal or conservative, many people seethe at governmental waste in any form. A rural fireman or a cop who puts life on the line every day often gets less, and many of those jobs are volunteer. Values. Priorities. "Economic appeals are not going to sway any Trump voters, who view anyone who is trying to increase government spending (READ THEIR LIPS - AN INCREASE IN THEIR TAXES WHILE THEY EARN $13/HR), especially to help other people, with disdain, even if it ultimately helps them, too." The confused sentence structure of that mirrors the confused thinking of the author, and is just plain offensive. Take out "conservative" and any reference in the article to a conservative person and substitute "KKK" and it will immediately be obvious that the article is just a yellow journalism hatchet job.
Carnegie DONATED his libraries to help the poor. He didn't ask to raise their taxes. I want to let you have access to better food. To do that I will raise your taxes on the food you buy. Nevermind that your kids need new clothes, you'll be able to have fresh avocado toast! Get it???
Some librarians have recognized the failings of their libraries and instituted programs and events to counteract the decline in use. Private bookstores often have more common sense though. I've not seen a coffee concession in a library. The possibility of having a sandwich and coffee while reading? Oh yeah. The chances of it helping fund the library? Oh yeah. Pull in $500/day and have coffee stain on a few books or close? Decisions, decisions.
For all the education involved, somewhere brains got left in the night drop in favor of doing things the way they have always been done - except some libraries have at least upgraded to the Blockbuster Video era. How about a bookstore and library in the same building? Sometimes there are small used books or donated books sales, but an honest to G real store with a selection of popular books within fifty steps or a wheelchair roll to encourage ALL reading? Horrors!
The article was a whinge. It was an attempt to indict the south for inferior values. It was as "educated" as a Junior High essay. I have NO respect for the author's perception skills.
Yes, I used a little hyperbole and dusted off my screed writing skills in my response. I know how to do that.
It was either that or respond with a simple
"Bless her little heart."
Were I a native southerner I might be that kind. I guess my Yankee is showing. Apologies to my neighbors.
I just don't understand how anyone could consider libraries a waste of taxpayers' $$$. I'm fortunate to have a branch of my county's library system within walking distance and both the facility and staff are great! They have programs for groups ranging from kids to seniors as well as books, audio CDs, DVDs available for loan as well as computers available for use by the public.
Also, many libraries have become a serious resource for job-hunting, with lessons for computer programs and various kinds of how-to advice, such as for resumes.
I miss the libraries of my past where I spent hours upon hours with some project or another during high school. I worked in the reference library during college and loved it. Even after I got married, the local librarians knew me by name because I was always borrowing books from universities around the world. They charged a minimal fee to first find the book, then asking the university or other source to borrow it --all without the internet. They always came through for me, kindly.
Today though the libraries are so different. People are loud, dirty, careless and rude. The library has turned into a crash-pad for the bums and other ill-bred derelicts. The last two times I've been in has been quite different and not at all a welcoming experience. it's not entirely gone, but I can't see them continuing to operate with such a free-flow of available information online. It's sad but as I say, it's not the same institution it used to be. Just like public libraries, i've given up flying coach for the same reasons --but that's another thread.
Last edited by settled00; 12-02-2019 at 07:56 PM..
Also, many libraries have become a serious resource for job-hunting, with lessons for computer programs and various kinds of how-to advice, such as for resumes.
Add sewing circles and more irrelevant material if you wish to insure their demise.
Quote:
Originally Posted by settled00
I miss the libraries of my past where I spent hours upon hours with some project or another during high school. I worked in the reference library during college and loved it. Even after I got married, the local librarians knew me by name because I was always borrowing books from universities around the world. They charged a minimal fee to first find the book, then asking the university or other source to borrow it --all without the internet. They always came through for me, kindly.
Today though the libraries are so different. People are loud, dirty, careless and rude. The library has turned into a crash-pad for the bums and other ill-bred derelicts. The last two times I've been in has been quite different and not at all a welcoming experience. it's not entirely gone, but I can't see them continuing to operate with such a free-flow of available information online. It's sad but as I say, it's not the same institution it used to be. Just like public libraries, i've given up flying coach for the same reasons --but that's another thread.
In communicating with my brother in Vermont, he brought up a couple of very good points. The biggest library in the state was a gift from a local family. The Underhill library is strictly funded by donations, and smaller libraries in the state are volunteer staffed. Putting government in charge of libraries is over-reach in his opinion.
His comment brought to my mind the theme in "The Music Man" where the building was left to the town, but the books to the librarian - because the politics of the town would have excluded some of the classics as prurient.
Community involvement in libraries has to come from the community and the ground up. When control is given to government or outsiders, the drive to support the library drops.
I am a retired librarian. Public libraries are known for keeping themselves relevant by doing outreach. That is the heritage and mission of public libraries, and it is one I am intensely proud of. Many public libraries are not funded by government, but are funded directly by taxes. Everyone pays a small amount to fund a lending library that allows the public to read borrowed books which they might not be able to afford to buy, or have room to keep in their homes.
Libraries usually are independent of local governments—often maddeningly so. They provide materials that some consider subversive, and others consider hidebound.
And modern public libraries do not just lend reading materials. They lend movies and sound recordings. Libraries provide meeting rooms for civic groups. They sponsor clubs and reading groups for kids and adults. They sponsor visiting authors. They usually have free computers for the use of the public. They often subscribe to special interest internet databases that help students and researchers. They house government publications.
I feel that it is a tragedy when citizens do not value their local libraries. And, contrary to some opinions, librarianship is much more than being familiar with the Dewey Decimal System.
If your community has its own library, you should treasure it and support it. Public libraries are America’s invention. They are as American as baseball. Their invention is our country's gift to the world, rather like the idea of National Parks.
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