"If Retro's Cool, Why Isn't the Library Making a Comeback? Capital One wants to know “What’s in your wallet?” It should be a library card. Public and university learning centers are underutilized resources."Two years later, oh yes they are, Mr Bank.
"But more than that, it may just be the last free space that is truly free and there for everyone — homeless, young, old, rich, poor, and any race under the sun. We are all welcome there. We are all equal there."
"At this point, you may be wondering what, exactly, the Cullman Public Library has to do with living on a budget. The answer is quite simple: it provides free book (and I was surprised to learn, movie) rentals, as well as internet and computer access.
I use 'free' in a loose manner, since the public library is funded by the government, which is, in turn, funded by us, the taxpayers. So, rather than 'free', the public library is actually more like something you are required to fund regardless of whether or not you plan to use it. When viewed in this fashion, it seems ridiculous not to take advantage of something for which you have already paid."
"••People—People are the library’s greatest advantage. The library’s staff of professionals are available to provide unbiased service to individuals at no charge and often with little or no delay. They have no commercial or political incentives affecting their advice, adhere to a professional code of ethics, and generally are experts in one or more segments of the library’s collections. They play an active role in creating the collections; in arranging for speakers, convening events, and organizing exhibits; in selecting technology to meet user needs and offering training in its use; in organizing services to meet user needs; and in general, in fashioning the library to serve its patrons and its community. These professionals will serve as the library’s driving force for adaptive change.
•• Place—Most libraries offer the advantage of place— physical facilities that are quiet, private, and comfortable for reading and reflection, as well as meeting places for small or large groups. These facilities exist today in many libraries throughout the country, representing a valuable physical infrastructure.
•• Price—Virtually all public libraries provide services to their patrons at no charge, a price that it is difficult for their commercial competitors to meet, except with the help of advertisements."
"One would think that in this world of laptops and Ipods, public buildings filled with paper-bound books would fade away into history. That couldn't be farther from the truth.
"A lot of people do use the public resource because we¹re free. All you need is your card. It's one of the best cards to have," said librarian Hillary Chang."
"But on Saturday, I grabbed David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest, which I checked out because (1) I've never read it; (2) I may not talk myself into it or be able to finish it and I definitely don't want it in my house staring judgmentally at me if I don't; (3) I want to give it a try; and (4) it wouldn't work as a Kindle book anyway because of the footnotes. Taking it out of the library is basically the only model under which I'm likely to try that particular book.
I also found the last three books in a highly frivolous Nora Roberts romance series (oh, settle down) from which I'd already read the first. They'd cost $12.99 each if I bought them electronically. That's forty bucks to read three more books that are ... all very much the same book as the first book, but I kind of wanted to read them, because ... whatever, it was the weekend. It's relaxing. It's a series. Don't judge.
Anyway, borrowing them long enough to read them (which takes, in total, maybe twelve hours for all three) cost me ... nothing out of pocket."
"The twice Carnegie-shortlisted author and library campaigner Alan Gibbons disagreed. "Where do you start? He does a half-hour visit to a library when he's clearly not a library user, and he doesn't understand that 320m visits occur to libraries every year," said Gibbons. "They are hugely used, and when they are not used it tends to be because people don't know when they're open, because of the successive cuts from the 1980s onwards, from politicians like him."
Gibbons was adamant that it is not only the middle classes who are library users. "The vast majority of people use libraries … Public libraries serve nearly everyone apart from incredibly rich people like John Redwood and the culture minister. Everyone else needs a library.""
"Libraries add prestige, culture and stability, defining a neighborhood, a community and a nation. Few inner cities have such institutions, yet few areas could better profit from these sanctums of learning and empowerment."
"101. It’s all FREE!"
"Brent is one of hundreds of councils planning to close public libraries in an attempt to meet huge cuts imposed by central government. Nearly 400 are threatened with closure, and with half of councils yet to announce their plans, the final number could be as many as 800 – a fifth of all libraries. One of those earmarked is Kensal Rise library. Housed in a comfortingly solid Victorian building, near a primary school on a quiet residential street, it was opened in 1900 by Mark Twain.
Caroline Bottomley, 49, has been going there for 12 years. "I walk down the road on my way home from the tube, and when I see those brass chandeliers twinkling in the windows, it feels like a homecoming," she said. "It's not just a library, it's such a big symbol of the community."
It is homely, with dark wood parquet floors, old-fashioned bookshelves, hushed voices. Students ploughing through their books, an older woman slowly turning pages of the Daily Mail.
Sara Levy, 39, sat with three-year-old Ella, colouring in Spot the Dog on a computer screen, with three-week-old Ava asleep on her chest. "It's the only local place you can come without spending money," she said. "It's local and friendly. And it's classless."
"Libraries have long been about more than books, but in the city they now deliver life support in the shape of information. Kids seek homework assistance from high school tutors. Some libraries offer adults help acquiring the basic literacy skills they need to undertake a GED program — sometimes in libraries with the help of volunteer teachers."
"With Dignity & Respect: Serving Homeless People in Library Communities." American Library Association / Michael Santangelo.
