
Libraries: Where It All Went Wrong - necrodome
http://nathan.torkington.com/blog/2011/11/23/libraries-where-it-all-went-wrong/
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meric
I always thought the purpose of library was to provide a study space, where
study materials are easily accessible, as well as plenty of equipment.

In fact, that's the definition of my local library. Lots of tables, chairs and
computers. Students go there to have group study sessions. People with no
access to internet (tourists, elderly, the poor) go to library to use the
internet. Now that house prices are growing (as it is here in Australia),
living spaces per person will begin to decline, and people may begin to rely
more on public spaces. (my thinking)

After reading the article, one could argue this is what a traditional CEO
would do with a library if it was a company - reduce the number of declining
businesses, increase the number of growing businesses. Books & collections are
no longer as needed - only keep the ones not easily accessible on the internet
(e.g. historical local newspapers dating back a hundred years). Free up space
for others to come and study.

I guess that's not really the way to go, but since my local library was
recently rebuilt in a brand new building, in the middle of a brand new public
square, it has absolutely nothing to worry about[1].

[1] Neither do frogs placed into a pot of water, placed onto a stove a mere
second ago.

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kevinalexbrown
This is a fascinating read, but I'm not sure what the answer is to "why
libraries now" as opposed to "how can we make sure libraries are still
relevant?" I don't quite know the answer, and I admit to being queasy about
letting them go. After all, libraries were such a democratizing power, even if
their quality did rapidly fall off as one went from big city to small city to
town. A great deal of attention was paid to making sure libraries aren't a
footnote in history, but I think it's worth asking why we don't want that.

(As an aside, I almost didn't follow the link because I assumed it was about
undocumented Java libraries or some such thing)

~~~
enobrev
It seems to me that the libraries of the world should be at the front lines of
the public internet. A mix of Wikipedia, the EFF and Project Gutenberg.
Ensuring human information is correct, well referenced, publicly accessible
and protected in the interest of the public. Basically, what they've always
been, but in digitized form.

The libraries - as a tax-supported public servant - should be internet savvy
enough to be top advisor to government on how to move forward in the best
interest of the public in regards to the Internet and the media held therein.

The largely one-sided tug-of-war that is copyright and the internet shows that
the public needs a larger and louder representative when it comes to our
media. "The library" should be front and center of these discussions making
sure the decisions hold the public needs in high regard.

With all these things in place, not only would libraries remain relevant, but
they would thrive, remaining the important part in human history they've
always been.

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RyanMcGreal
> A mix of Wikipedia, the EFF and Project Gutenberg.

Don't forget <http://archive.org>.

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unwind
Uh, isn't the core function of "ordinary" (as opposed to research, and
university on-campus libraries) libraries to loan out books? So that people
don't have to buy a book just to be able to read it? As long as literature
isn't free, it seems libraries have a role to fulfill.

But then again, I think even that usage of libraries is declining, perhaps
because time previously spent reading books is now spent on other pleasures
(surfing the Internet, for instance). I don't have data to back up this hunch,
though.

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chalst
Providing research tools & a study place is one of the two functions of
libraries.

The other is archiving and referencing, and it is this that is the larger part
of the librarian's professional skill. This function helps ensure that
published knowledge survives in a usable form in the long term.

The move of such knowledge to the information greatly increases the risk of
destruction of such information.

On the plus side, it is easier to censor libraries than the internet.

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kam
Phillip Torrone of MAKE has a radical suggestion for libraries' "next big
thing" -- provide resources for building things.

[http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/03/is-it-time-to-
rebui...](http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/03/is-it-time-to-rebuild-
retool-public-libraries-and-make-techshops.html)

