Libraries: A Little Bit of Fear, A Little Bit of Hope

[dewline]

Something james_nicoll pointed out to me today in one of his latest: apparently, there's a small plague of cutbacks hitting the world's libraries again. Part of the outbreak hit John Scalzi's backyard, and he's unhappy about it. You can read about that over here.

I don't understand the idea of libraries being obsolete, because the evidence of my own eyes from visits to assorted branches in recent weeks tells me the idea's full of crap, if you'll pardon my Anglo-Saxon. Not even good crap, either.

Now maybe I just live in and visit charmed neighbourhoods. I dunno. But I tend to think from the arguments in progress that I'm not wrong to think there's still a use for bricks and mortar and paper and glue and cardstock.

Ian Gould, Luke Parsons, Mark Richards and I, we're betting at least part of our future on my being right on this one, I think.

How about you?

Comments

[si-fuller.livejournal.com]

It's like this. Of course the need for libraries is as strong as ever. If only because 95% of people can't research for shit, or recognise a authoritative source if it bit them. That includes students and even academics. Public libraries are storehouses of local history, social hubs, and free (or at least cheap) computer access to people who'd otherwise be denied access to one of the most important resources of the 21st century (after stuff like water and love, obviously). Plus, free books obviously.

However, local councils/governments, school bodies, and even university administrations don't understand this. Despite the fact that most libraries constantly move, being as close to the edge of the latest technology as their budgets permit, most of the administrative types see libraries as dingy rows of books with some fascist old spinster haunting the stacks going "Shhh". Because most of the administrative types are part of the aforementioned 95%, and think Wikipedia and one-word Google searches justify huge budget cuts.

That's the worrying and bitterly ironic thing about working in the industry. In the end, it'll probably be ignorance that kills us.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Another one of these things where that "eternal vigilance" the wise old ones talked about is still called for, then?

[duncanmac.livejournal.com]

I'd certainly say so.

While the primary reason for the fall of the Roman Empire was probably "demographic collapse" [far too many people failed to have children], the refusal of people to pass on their skills or to care about learning in general certainly did not help.

[pompe.livejournal.com]

I'm not so sure. I mean, I do know that my students - a few of them - do visit public libraries (we have no real library in our school), and I do know that the university library is well-used, but my feeling is that the younger generation do visit the libraries less. I don't think the libraries will disappear, but I think they will become significantly fewer. I think in my country the school libraries will shrink and die off and while every municipality will have a public library, just as they have a swimming hall and an exhibit hall, I think the small branches will go.

A significant problem here, for me, is that the libraries don't stock enough English books. The university library is more useful.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Conversely, I've no idea how Ottawa Public Library handles Swedish-language materials, much less on what scale right now.

Anything in particular you'd be wanting them to go looking for on your end?

[pompe.livejournal.com]

These days it is frequently more interesting and faster to get any English-original in English. It usually takes a year or three before they show up in Swedish, if they even do.

I'd go for any science. Very seldom translated and it feels like the library is mainly filled with humanities and social science. The natural sciences are underrepresented.

Here's a sidebar on Oak Brook, Illinois

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Leaves me just a little chilled, that tale about the library in that neck of the Great Lakes:

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=325508

Re: Here's a sidebar on Oak Brook, Illinois

[duncanmac.livejournal.com]

The antagonist in the story (a fellow named Xinos) raises my hackles. It would be a delight (had I the strength) to frogmarch him to the nearest washroom and Wash His Mouth Out With Soap.

However, he was in the US Marine Corps and I was not.

As to the Marine Corps angle...

[dewline.livejournal.com]

...we may yet see a few of his fellow Marines step forward to provide such service if need be. Time will tell.

[duncanmac.livejournal.com]

I certainly prefer "dead-tree" format for my reading material, and so do most of the friends I have.

For me, the library was a refuge when I was a kid, and I tend to view them that way still.