I actually prefer to work in libraries. Sometimes coffee shops are just too loud and the facilities at libraries are better.
For example, the NY SIBL has Aeron chairs and free wifi! Plus there is a starbucks next door for you to buy coffee from. What's not to love about that?
This reminds me, I stay in Singapore and there's this policy in all libraries (we only have state libraries) that you have to read something when in the library to sit at a table. I've been chased out for doing work there for that reason.
I also find libraries to have some of the best internet bandwidth, although a few have had an arbitrarily low bandwidth limit. I also like the quiet atmosphere, perfect for working on code.
If they added coffee shops in libraries and made it a more social place I would be so there. I go to coffee shops or Barnes & Noble for the atmosphere. People humming around me, having their conversations, laughing with their friends, really helps me to concentrate on my work. Right now libraries are just plain depressing. They should probably stake out a section just for people to sit down to read their books along with their coffee and another section for those that want/need 100% quiet. Right now you would have to put a gun on my head for me to even come close to one. No offense to you or anybody who likes libraries but in my mind going to a library is equal to being old and decrepit and devoid of any passion.
It kind of makes me glad that libraries are dying.
Wow, where do you live? I have spent a ton of time in Seattle's, San Francisco's, and New York's public libraries, and all are fantastic.
Seattle's is by far the best though. Free, fast WiFi, good coffee stand in the library, helpful librarians, outlets galore, amazing architecture and an enforced no-sleeping policy (this helps keep it a place of work and learning, and not a homeless shelter, of which Seattle has plenty for those in need).
You can get great DVDs and books for free, and reserve them online if they're unavailable. It's basically Netflix for free.
The Business Library on 34th in NYC and the main library in SF at Civic Center are also pretty good.
In general, I think you have an outdated view of modern libraries. However, it could just be that you live in a city where all of what you said is true, in which case, talk to your local government and get it fixed!
I think libraries are actually migrating towards the trend of being social study spots. At my old school, UT Austin, one library was actually converted to be an "academic center" which really meant a building with tables, couches, and desks for students to work at. Another library had certain floors where you were able to talk. I enjoyed these places.
I like coffee shops too, but I feel pretty bad about taking up tables and not buying coffee. So on days when I feel cheap, I'll just go to the library. On days when I feel like spending money I'll go to a coffee shop and buy a few cups (or one cup and put some money in the tip jar).
Funnily enough, I also enjoy the atmosphere/noise of a coffeeshop. I even once went looking to see if there were CDs or streams of coffee shop noise in order to try to emulate that effect without actually being in one. Unfortunately my search yielded no results!
I hope you are right. If libraries make this transition then they will get more customers and maybe even make some money to pay for expenses. I've also tried to replicate the atmosphere. Unfortunately, it seems that key ingredient is people. Which means that it cannot be reproduced on a cd. I find that if I'm not around people for a long period of time it starts to become difficult for me to work. I don't need to talk to them. I just need to have their positive auras around me, and I think this is in abundance in places like a coffee shop, were people go to relax and have a good time. Also the type of people that go there is really important. I see many people reading or working on their computers, and that is motivating.
The economics of libraries are different than you seem to think. Most are publicly funded institutions, and the funding is typically based on day-to-day usage (circulation, the number of people visiting, internet sessions, etc.). Late fees are little more than an incentive to actually return things, and are inconsequential as actual income.
Also, the exact needs depend on the neighborhood, but libraries help with a lot of social issues. I spent a fair bit of time helping kids who spoke little English with their homework, digging up resources for dealing with bad landlords and other legal complications, assisting with resumes and unemployment paperwork, etc.
If it was just another Barnes and Noble, it'd be different, but libraries are supposed to be a public resource for finding information. Research librarians were the original search engines, you know. :)
(Academic, medical, etc. libraries serve different roles, of course. I'm just talking about public libraries.)
The problem is that many of these libraries are underfunded. Not enough new books are being added. All the books that I have needed over the last couple of years I can never find them in a library. I've pretty much stopped relying on libraries and just go straight to Amazon if I really need a book. The additional funding could be used to buy more books or provide more services. At least I hope.
With the rise of the internet you can get almost any information you need from your computer. I haven't had the need to go and do research in a library for a long time.
> The problem is that many of these libraries are underfunded.
No kidding. People hate taxes, though.
Public libraries generally aren't going to be interested in stocking extremely niche-y technical books, anyway. (For that, try academic/research libraries.) Individual collections are stocked to meet the needs of the local patrons, and something that is 1) expensive, 2) only relevant for one person, and 3) likely to be obsolete in three years is not a high priority.
You might try http://www.freesound.org/searchText.php . I couldn't link my searches, but try 'cafe', 'lounge', 'coffeeshop', etc. Longest I saw was ~20 minutes, and was a lounge, so music, but more than nothing. And you can always record your own and share them!
Originally saw the site accredited in the movie 'children of men' [title possibly mangled].
Everyone is wired differently. This is exactly why I go to libraries to work/study and not coffee shops. Listening to people yammer away is the last thing I want when I'm trying to concentrate. I can't get a thing done in a coffee shop.
For example, the NY SIBL has Aeron chairs and free wifi! Plus there is a starbucks next door for you to buy coffee from. What's not to love about that?