Should the government pay for libraries? (legal, drug, marijuana, amendment)
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I definitely think libraries, in some form, should be provided by the goverment to it's people to make sure knowledge is accessable to everyone. I have no problem with limititng the scope of the library or it's materials however since there is no chance of them being everything to all people. There always comes a time of deminished payoff and we should focus on the things that can be provided BEFORE that point is reached. After that community funds or donations can be used.
I definitely think libraries, in some form, should be provided by the goverment to it's people to make sure knowledge is accessable to everyone. I have no problem with limititng the scope of the library or it's materials however since there is no chance of them being everything to all people. There always comes a time of deminished payoff and we should focus on the things that can be provided BEFORE that point is reached. After that community funds or donations can be used.
That is fair I believe. However, there are some who hold that Libraries should only be available to those who can pay user fees etc. This is what Phquest and others are suggesting. ...libertarian stuff.
In my district we think so. We passed a tax increase to fund the library and many of us also bought bricks to support it. A developer donated the land. And many of us, myself included, have volunteered our time.
In my district we think so. We passed a tax increase to fund the library and many of us also bought bricks to support it. A developer donated the land. And many of us, myself included, have volunteered our time.
It's great to see so many posts in support of public libraries.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pghquest
Maybe you can buy some books and donate them yourself
Excellent idea. Public libraries can use donated books for their collections (either filling in gaps or as replacements for worn-out copies) or they can use donated books in book sales to generate additional, much-needed revenue.
Quote:
Originally Posted by workingclasshero
I have spend many an hour in libraries...but in todays high-tech world libraries are becoming a thing of the past...
This may become true at some point, but not in my lifetime. The people who participate here on this forum are obviously connected to the Internet -- can I have a show of hands from those who are using or have used in the past a computer in a public library to get online? But there are still a LOT of people out there who are not as fully involved in "today's high-tech world" and would be put at an even greater disadvantage if there were no public libraries.
Another more important reason that libraries aren't going away anytime soon is online searching. Google is pretty efficient, but try searching some relatively broad topic. You may not want to look at all 13 million hits to find what you actually need.
A third reason: a high-tech world is no guarantee of a job, a steady income, the ability to access the Internet, buy books/CDs/DVDs, and so on. In fact, public library usage always goes up significantly when we are in difficult times - people looking for employment information, people borrowing materials instead of purchasing them, people simply trying to get online to check their email account, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pghquest
Actually libraries pay A LOT more for a book, than I do. Typical cost on a library buying $1,000 retail price of books, $800, my cost $400. Libraries are charged more because its taxpayer money funding the purchase.
I have no reason to doubt that you are able to pay less for books than libraries do, but I disagree with your last sentence. Most libraries deal with one or more vendors, and the vendors will sell materials to libraries at discounts of 10 to 40%. A large library or library consortium can generally get substantial discounts on a variety of materials based on the size and frequency of orders.
Our county is building two new libraries this year, and doing so without raising taxes. Personally, I have no problem in paying more in property taxes when the additional funds go to improve the quality of life in my county. That goes for schools and teachers, even though we have no school-age children; it goes for police and fire, even though we hope to continue to not need either; and it goes for libraries and parks, regardless of whether we use them or not.
I admit I have not gone to a library in some time simply because I have been moving around so much and have not learned where my current local library actually is.
However growing up and even into my adult years I frequented them often. I know that it is a local and state mandated policy and personally feel that it should be well supported at those levels because I have seen the sort of quality that can be attained via such state and private support via donation.
When I lived in Phoenix both the Scottsdale Branch and the Central Branch in Phoenix were massive and well maintained, staffed, and stocked. Many of the smaller local branches were also quite well stocked and with cross branch searches and well maintained computer systems it was never difficult to track down or read any given book you were looking for.
I personally would love to see the sort of support I saw in Arizona be more wide spread for the benefit of those who use libraries regularly.
It's great to see so many posts in support of public libraries.
Excellent idea. Public libraries can use donated books for their collections (either filling in gaps or as replacements for worn-out copies) or they can use donated books in book sales to generate additional, much-needed revenue.
This may become true at some point, but not in my lifetime. The people who participate here on this forum are obviously connected to the Internet -- can I have a show of hands from those who are using or have used in the past a computer in a public library to get online? But there are still a LOT of people out there who are not as fully involved in "today's high-tech world" and would be put at an even greater disadvantage if there were no public libraries.
Another more important reason that libraries aren't going away anytime soon is online searching. Google is pretty efficient, but try searching some relatively broad topic. You may not want to look at all 13 million hits to find what you actually need.
A third reason: a high-tech world is no guarantee of a job, a steady income, the ability to access the Internet, buy books/CDs/DVDs, and so on. In fact, public library usage always goes up significantly when we are in difficult times - people looking for employment information, people borrowing materials instead of purchasing them, people simply trying to get online to check their email account, etc.
I have no reason to doubt that you are able to pay less for books than libraries do, but I disagree with your last sentence. Most libraries deal with one or more vendors, and the vendors will sell materials to libraries at discounts of 10 to 40%. A large library or library consortium can generally get substantial discounts on a variety of materials based on the size and frequency of orders.
Our county is building two new libraries this year, and doing so without raising taxes. Personally, I have no problem in paying more in property taxes when the additional funds go to improve the quality of life in my county. That goes for schools and teachers, even though we have no school-age children; it goes for police and fire, even though we hope to continue to not need either; and it goes for libraries and parks, regardless of whether we use them or not.
It seems that Public Libraries have broad support among Democrats and Republicans. The only group that really spoke out against them were the hard core libertarians. Maybe that is just an example as to why libertarians don't hold many political offices. They are just ideologues.
I have no reason to doubt that you are able to pay less for books than libraries do, but I disagree with your last sentence. Most libraries deal with one or more vendors, and the vendors will sell materials to libraries at discounts of 10 to 40%. A large library or library consortium can generally get substantial discounts on a variety of materials based on the size and frequency of orders.
Our county is building two new libraries this year, and doing so without raising taxes. Personally, I have no problem in paying more in property taxes when the additional funds go to improve the quality of life in my county. That goes for schools and teachers, even though we have no school-age children; it goes for police and fire, even though we hope to continue to not need either; and it goes for libraries and parks, regardless of whether we use them or not.
Yes, Libraries can always work with vendors, (I've delt with a ton of libraries), but the point is, if a library goes directly, they are offered prices substantially higher than contracted vendors. Even when a library decides to not go directly, and then go to a vendor like myself, they are still paying more. After all, we need to be paid a "profit".
It seems that Public Libraries have broad support among Democrats and Republicans. The only group that really spoke out against them were the hard core libertarians. Maybe that is just an example as to why libertarians don't hold many political offices. They are just ideologues.
That would be a "hardcore libertarian"
There are many libertarians that hold public office.
Also, many libertarians support libraries and actually try to expand services and help create voluntary endowments.
We do not agree on everything - 24 types of Libertarians:
I looked at your cite. Could not find anything that supports that Libertarians are for public libraries. FYI, creating voluntary endowments is not supporting libraries through taxpayer funding, although it is certainly helpful.
Anyone can say that support public libraries, where the rubber meets the road is whether they will pay for it with their taxes.
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