Libraries will Survive

Not in Colorado they won't.

3 Ballot questions in this Novembers election will effectively shut down about 20% of Colorado's Public Libraries (basically all the libraries that do NOT have a publicly elected board are screwed).

America is dumb enough, I can't imagine how much dumber they can afford to get - I guess I'll find out after November.

WTF? Libraries are socialism. Let the free market make books, movies, and all other media cheap and pervasive. It will be everywhere, and everyone will be able to access it cheaply.

Doesn't the US have libraries in their school (I'm from Canada, and we do).

I don't even remember the last time I was at a library but I know my sister goes a lot.

This was a fantastic and fun way to high light the important role libraries play in our communities. As more and more people lost employment and the web access, the local library became a lifeline for untold numbers. The libraries have historically proven to be a wonderful resource for the newly arrived, for those who long to learn but don't have the opportunity and for those seeking escape from an unhappy or regressive life.

I agree vonskippy, America needs libraries now more than ever.

While most public schools do have libraries, Matt, the schools frequently are not open at night or on the weekends. Due to budget cuts, much is often lacking in the school library. The library is the only place where research may be conducted.

this was made @ the library in my town ...... its worse then it looks in the video ....

I wish libraries were more efficient. I have friends in the business I can't share this with them but I have always envisioned a device with every book on it... like next decade's e-reader w full color, weatherporoof, and several terabytes of storage... Hundreds of these devices could be distributed throughout a city via a network of vending machine sized kiosks. Blockbuster is obsolete... and IMHO, so is the gigantic warehouse of paper. Just to be clear, I think libraries are taxes well spent just outdated in implementation.

Ahnother clarification, hundreds of kiosks with hundreds of these devices... can I dream of public wifi for it, too?

I have to say in my experience there is a gross mismanagement of funds. The directors keep cutting front line staff members that serve the public and give themselves raises. There is no reason a library director should make $100 000 per year and the people that actually do the work are expected to volunteer or wages are barely above minimum. The Gov. should look into where the money is actually going. It's unfortunate but it is why I bought an eReader I have been turned off libraries after working for regional library office.

Some hater above wrote: America is dumb enough...

Geez, thanks for your kind words about a WHOLE country. Next time I hear about some stupid silly thing some American Nobel prize winner has done, I'll remind myself that America has no brains.

Be careful when you decide to dismount your high horse. The fall is gonna be a long one.

Peg is write. The greedy and corrupt have taken over all of the libraries.

In San Francisco they built a new library to replace the old one. The new one looks like an art gallery and has half of the space of the old library.

Do you know what they did with the half of the books that would not fit in the new library? They threw them out!

After building the new art gallery, um, library, they then staffed it with the $100,000 a year management that Peg mentions.

I have not been to the library in years because the book section I am interested in went from six or eight 8 foot tall by 20 feet long racks of books, down to six or eight 3 feet tall racks of books maybe 6 feet long.

Peg, "front line staff members" -- Library clerks do a lot of hard work, but how much money should be given to people who work a job high schoolers could easily handle? Unless you were referring to the actual librarians... some of whom eventually go on to take directorships in their careers. Perhaps the directors don't need quite so much money, but they also bear a lot more responsibility for the library (sometimes multiple libraries, actually).

Happeh, "Do you know what they did with the half of the books that would not fit in the new library? They threw them out!"

What else would they have done with them? People get SO offended when books get thrown away (after "weeding" the shelves, aka deaccession) but where are they supposed to go? Books are thrown out when they haven't been circulated in years or are in poor condition or are hopelessly obsolete. Some are removed via book sales (and often come back in a donation a couple of years later), but then what?

As for the "art gallery" library... people don't see a lot of need for libraries these days, at least not in the traditional "book storage unit" sense. Do you want them to cling to the old ways and hemorrhage in gate counts? Several libraries I know have in recent times remodeled to add cafe areas, a lot more reading spots, better environment overall, etc, because that's what people tend to use them for. A dingy beige, metal-shelved library is NOT going to compete with a stylish Barnes & Noble that lets patrons still read for free and visit a Starbucks and use the wifi while they're there.

Which is not to say that the redesigned library is not a poor space. Politics and flashy design can affect libraries as much as any other institution. The public library in (I think) Seattle has an unusual spiraling ramp to take patrons through the Dewey numbers. Cool and different? Sure. Useless compared to a more usual layout? You bet.

Tempscire, as you so...aptly put it, the people that do the job a lot of high schoolers could handle are called Pages, not Library Clerks. And most of the time the Pages -are- high schoolers. A Library Clerk, on the other hand, handles everything from book repair to coding to database entry across multiple software programs just to start. They also get to handle the disgruntled patrons the desk clerks can't handle and supervise the staff. It's not a job any high-schooler could do.