
The Demise of the Public Library - llambda
http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/05/the-demise-of-the-public-library/
======
tommorris
And we're all missing the point again. Libraries are about books. I go to
libraries to borrow books, to read books and generally get access to books
other than Dan Brown and Harry Potter. That stuff is more than adequately
supplied by the market: if I want mass-market paperbacks, I can get them used
on Amazon for a penny plus shipping, much less than the cost of a bus
ticket/train ticket/driving to the library. But more obscure stuff, out-of-
print stuff, that's the value of libraries. And giving free (well,
subsidised/low-cost) access to everyone who wants that is the value of
libraries.

I've got a Kindle. I use it as a place for storing personal documents, pretty
much exclusively. Almost everything I read is not an e-book in any format.
Almost everything on my bookshelves is not available as an e-book in any
format.

The long tail of books are not e-books and probably won't be for a long time.
The point of libraries is exactly to ensure there isn't an information divide
in society. Science, philosophy, literature, history, languages: these
shouldn't be the preserve of people who can afford to buy the books or attend
college or jump through the hoops needed to access research libraries.

And it's all very well telling people to go use the Internet. What are they
gonna do, look it up on Wikipedia? Fine, and where are the people who write
Wikipedia going to get access to the books to write the Wikipedia articles?
And what happens when they get to the end of the Wikipedia article and want to
read more? It's the same with adult education: the government tell us that we
need to become "lifelong learners" to survive in the current economy. How
exactly are we to do that when adult education courses are closing and
libraries are closing?

A working programmer friend of mine wanted to do A-level in mathematics. He
could only find one place in London that offers an adults course. To get into
universities, students are more and more expected to have read outside their
curriculum. Getting rid of libraries makes it so only the rich kids can get
access to the books. And the only answer we can give them: go buy a Kindle.

If education is the road to a better life, we sure as hell need to make sure
the road is kept in good repair.

~~~
mrj
In many towns libraries serve as a default community center. I get daily
emails with all of the events happening in my small town and I would say at
least half of those are at the local library.

What you're saying is true, of course. But that over looks a great deal of
value that libraries provide -- it's more than just bound paper on shelves.

~~~
tommorris
Sure, that's definitely what the government bureaucrats call "value-add". But
the problem is that sometimes the value-add seems to be the only thing they
focus on.

Decisions about library policy are done on the basis of the community stuff,
how it'll affect parents with kids who use the library for story time, and the
views of readers get neglected.

I went to my local library today, and they've removed yet more non-fiction
shelving to move the registrar of births, marriages and deaths into the
library. The library seems willing to accomodate just about anything... except
books, which seem to be the primary function. The library in the next town
over has a monthly "meet animals" day, where someone brings in a ferret or a
snake or something and kids get to see and pet an animal. Which is fine, and I
haven't got a problem with that. The fact that every time I go in there, they
have less books makes me all the less likely to want to scream and shout when
the barbarians in pinstripes come to tear the place down and "streamline
operations" and so on.

Because of all the feel-good community stuff libraries have to do in order to
remain "relevant", the actual point of the library gets slowly undermined and
weakened. I don't blame the libraries: they are only doing what they need to
do to survive. I blame the politicians and the public for undervaluing
libraries.

~~~
king_jester
> Because of all the feel-good community stuff libraries have to do in order
> to remain "relevant", the actual point of the library gets slowly undermined
> and weakened.

I want to point out that the actual point of a library is to do all of the
things you mention. A community's library isn't just a repository of books,
it's an integral public meeting space that facilitates access to information
and helps with the needs of its community. Running programs for kids (in
addition to ones for teens, adults, the poor, etc.) and providing access to
civic information are all fair game for a public library. Libraries balance
the needs of their communities, and in your community it sounds like there is
a big demand for services other than books.

~~~
tommorris
In my area, we have one of the largest spends on libraries in the country. But
unlike a lot of other groups, those of us who just turn up and want to borrow
books seem to not get much say in library policy. I don't think any of the
community stuff is bad, and the local government needs to provide services for
people, but that's not an excuse for reducing the books on the shelves, making
inter-library loan services worse and so on. Libraries serve a lot of
constituencies, but they sometimes forget that readers are one of them.

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spodek
Libraries create community and culture. I can't tell you how much value I get
out of having a library across the street from me. I must go there at least
weekly. I read books and see movies I wouldn't have otherwise. I meet
neighbors there. Families bring children there. Libraries stock books and
movies stores don't.

Having fewer libraries, even if bigger, doesn't match the value of a
neighborhood library.

~~~
gavinlynch
If you did not have a family, would you still find value in the library? Not
trying to put words in your mouth, but it seems it's biggest value is for
parents with children.

~~~
king_jester
In my experience, I find huge value in my local library, and I have no
children. For myself, when unemployed the library provided a fantastic public
space for me to get away from the home and do some serious programming work
and job hunting. I know a few people who work on their side project ideas at
the library (they bring their own laptops for this) and I know several people
who use the library as their only source of internet access.

Keep in mind the value for a particular local library may not fall along your
particular interests. Libraries serve the community as a whole, and there are
many diverse needs for a typical community that a library has to serve.

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smountcastle
This is truly sad. When I visit my local library all of the public user
computers are continuously utilized and there is a waiting list -- I assume
these folks either don't own their own computer or need to be able to use a
public one. I appreciate the quiet place to work and free WiFi.

Not everyone has e-readers or can afford to purchase a large number of books--
our library definitely fills a need in the local community. Plus knowledgable
staff can recommend good books and assist students with their research (the
inter-library loan system which includes local Universities is especially
helpful in this case).

While I can drive to the library, I do see a large number of folks arriving
via foot and/or public transportation. I cannot imagine the impact to those
communities which are losing their local libraries. Perhaps Brent is
particularly affluent, but I suspect that the council is being misguided by
their consultants or simply doesn't care about those members of the community
who will be impacted most by these library closures.

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rmason
How many of you who support libraries actually give to them? After a friend
challenged me to match his efforts I started giving books to our local library
every year. My sister and I virtually came of age in that library and I'd
forgotten how vital it is for a childs development.

But libraries do need to evolve. They need to have digital offerings. I'd like
to see them set aside room for hacker spaces as well as user group meeting
rooms.

The more community engagement for the libraries services the harder it will be
for politicians to cut their budgets.

~~~
smountcastle
How many of your book donations show up in the stacks, available for check
out? I've stopped donating books to my local library because they would just
turn around and sell all of them at the next book fair. I was even buying new
books which I'd appreciate being able to check out and donating them --
perhaps my tastes are out of sync from the rest of the patrons, but as a kid I
appreciated that my local library had technical books that I was able to learn
programming from.

~~~
Symmetry
Even if they sell off a lot of books they can still be helping out the
library. Its a sad fact that books, especially paperbacks, wear out if you let
them circulate. Whenever we get donations we always compare them to what we
currently have on the shelves, and keep whichever is in the best condition.

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atacrawl
I consider the public library to be the secular society's equivalent of a
church -- a place where the entire community can freely meet and exchange
ideas, where mind and spirit can be enlightened through knowledge. I fear as
libraries go, so goes secularism itself.

~~~
kiba
I thought it was called the coffee shop.

~~~
gavinlynch
or the Internets?

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valgaze
BTW, UCSD students recenetly "broke in" to an auxiliary library shuttered due
to budget cuts: [http://www.publiclibraries.com/blog/college-students-
force-u...](http://www.publiclibraries.com/blog/college-students-force-ucsd-
library-to-open-for-finals/)

A quiet place to study and think is crucially important

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noonespecial
Libraries are one of those things that, even if you don't personally use them,
your life will get a little bit worse if they disappear because of how their
loss will effect your community. Probably enough so to justify supporting them
with your taxes even if you never set foot in one.

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briandon
Public libraries (in the traditional, physical-book-filled sense) are probably
a doomed institution.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_library_usage>

Maybe they can hold on as free Internet cafes, since that seems to be how many
people actually use them today. All that would be missing would be the
availability of free or subsidized tea, drip coffee, and maybe some sort of
nutritious but inexpensive to prepare hot soup.

~~~
gnat
That Wikipedia article blurs research libraries (like you'd find in a
university) with public libraries. Almost all the hard numbers they quote are
about research libraries, but the libraries that most of us care about (the
ones that act as a democratic backstop for access to information) are public
libraries.

The real thing to watch is the countercyclical nature of public libraries
([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_library_usage#Econom...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_library_usage#Economic_effects_on_library_usage)
in that article). As the economy worsens, public library use increases. Not
just for reading material, but for the public services the libraries provide:
free law clinics, resume-writing help, etc.

I'm not sure what your local public library is like, but in our small town
library is busy all the time. People are borrowing paper books, using the
Internet-connected computers, and getting help from librarians. Doomed? Only
if we let them; only if we think it's okay to reinstate barriers around
lifelong learning.

~~~
briandon
Also, public libraries aren't necessarily the best venues for Internet usage,
free law clinics, resume-writing/job assistance, etc.

A community center that also has a library component, maybe.

~~~
king_jester
Typically people who use the libraries for things like a free law clinic or
assistance with writing a resume don't have an alternative resource. In my
area our local library does a week of tax preparation for individuals at tax
time with volunteers, and they are so busy that they have to turn people away
each day. Many of those individuals simply cannot shell out the money to go to
a tax prep service and don't have the resources or knowledge to do taxes
themselves.

------
valgaze
I'm very comfortable with the end of libraries as we know them today, but I
think the facilities should be repurposed into "study lounges" and meeting
space for civics groups. With a few exceptns, you don't really need a library
for books anymore. Why not have the young professionals studying for grad
school entrance exams or high school kids studying in Starbucks to do that in
a community-center type space. For folks without computers/Internet access,
keep or expand the computers that are already in there.

I remember the Nook had a very weird feature where if you were inside the
store you could free-read any book you wanted electronically, maybe a
repurposed library could have the same licensing arrangement with content from
the likes of Google books.

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JumpCrisscross
The article argues that libraries serve their purpose as public e-cafes. Given
that this is not the original intent of libraries, it would call for re-
considering how they have been transformed by modern technology, i.e. the very
thing the author mocks the council for having considered.

I would argue for a cloud model to libraries - as centralised a super-library
as possible to house the electronic literature and then a series of "thin"
libraries that have terminals to access that media.

This article offers personal anecdotes against a corpus of literature on
falling library user bases, etc. A NYT author can do better than inducing the
state of British libraries from a personal example.

~~~
waqf
Meanwhile, the person quoted in the article argues that everyone has computers
and e-readers now.

Right, so close the libraries and _make sure e-books are free for everyone_
like library books used to be.

~~~
smountcastle
Our library system (Fairfax Co., VA) allows checking out e-books through a
system called OverDrive:
[http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/dbsremote/resource/eboo...](http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/dbsremote/resource/ebook.htm)

I've only tried it once to test it out and it appeared to work fine (I don't
have a Kindle, I suspect I would use it more if I did).

~~~
tommorris
OverDrive doesn't work on Kindle. Also, many libraries have only a very small
number of OverDrive books: my local library has 30 ebooks on OverDrive.

~~~
ansy
You are incorrect regarding OverDrive and Kindle. The support was just
recently added [1][2].

I will echo that most OverDrive collections are nowhere near large enough for
most people to care just yet. But that has been rapidly changing with so many
compatible eReaders on the market. Libraries are just now bulking up on
digital licenses to meet the surging demand. I would not be surprised if there
are already libraries with more digital copies of a popular novel than paper
copies.

[1] [http://overdrive.com/news/OverDrive-and-Amazon-launch-
Kindle...](http://overdrive.com/news/OverDrive-and-Amazon-launch-Kindle-
compatibility-with-Library-eBooks)

[2]
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=200747550)

------
jdietrich
My local libraries function primarily as daycentres for the homeless and free
internet cafes for students and immigrants. Arguably a valuable social
service, but a library in name only. My nearest library loans more DVDs than
books.

I'd be prepared to fight for the _idea_ of libraries, but the reality? Not so
much. Cut the funding, close them all, spend the rest of the money on FE
colleges (community colleges).

~~~
keithpeter
"I'd be prepared to fight for the idea of libraries, but the reality? Not so
much. Cut the funding, close them all, spend the rest of the money on FE
colleges (community colleges)."

Make sure that money is ring fenced carefully. See my post above in this
thread.

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JumpCrisscross
The article starts out with a potentially sound assertion on considering
whether patrons of libraries walk or travel to them (though I cringe at
anecdotal evidence being used to assault a study).

It then argues that libraries serve their purpose as public e-cafes

------
antidaily
or The Demise of Physical Media

~~~
tjr
With VHS tapes, and DVDs, we watched programs and movies on television
screens. Take away the physical media and replace it with files on a computer,
and we're still watching programs and movies on television screens.

With vinyl records, and cassettes, and compact discs, we listened to music on
speaker systems and on headphones. Take away the physical media and replace it
with files on a computer, and we're still listening to music on speaker
systems and on headphones.

But books? We never consumed books through something analogous to television
sets or speakers. We held the actual book in our hands, and read the printed
pages with our eyes. Replacing physical books with digital books is, in my
opinion, a significantly bigger switch than moving from compact discs to MP3s
or from DVDs to MP4s. The entire experience has changed, not just how the
content is stored.

~~~
simcop2387
Along with that we've gone from needing gigantic buildings to house them to
being able to carry them around with you in your pocket. That's also a
gigantic change in the experience. It's turned a personal library/study into
something for the rich into something that is affordable by at least half the
population in the western world if not more.

~~~
estevez
There's a 3.5 GB ebook torrent at Pirate Bay. Between Project Gutenberg and
places like TPB it's within reach for anyone with an internet connection.

~~~
kruhft
A while back I, ahem, saw a torrent for over 10G of Math books/textbooks on
TPB along with numerous other collections that one would never find outside of
exclusive university libraries. The internet has changed everything regarding
access to certain classes of information.

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paulhauggis
I'm posting this from a library. I use my local library for my office. Most
have free Internet and more recently, free DVD rental.

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tomjen3
Well that is to be expected. Ebooks are so much cheaper to distribute that it
makes no sense to have all these physical books around.

