[…] saw this post on my co-workers blog and couldn’t agree more! Now I can’t remember the last time I was in a library but I do […]
Full props to the sentiment, but to be more precise — wouldn’t cutting libraries during a recession be more like cutting pharmacies in a plague, and cutting education more like cutting hospitals?
ehh, for a tech dude/promulgator, doncha know that most libraries are now being superceded by the interpipes? internet? known in some circles as DARPA-spawn? just sayin’
Frank: Most libraries are adapting to become the go-to place to access the interpipes. Many people can only afford to get their broadband internet access at library computers.
There’s also the matter of a lot of information and literature existing only in dead-tree form.
There is nothing that prevents a library from soliciting donations to advance their program. If a given library is truly a good idea those people with money to spend will donate it to a good cause. The inverse is worth keeping in mind. There are taxpayers who might need the money more than a library needs any given 1,000 books and the staff to support those books.
I disagree with the analogy above. Per Wikipedia the bubonic plague hasn’t been a significant natural issue for a hundred years and even if it resurfaced doesn’t require a hospital to treat. The creator should have researched the analogy he was making.
“The creator should have researched the analogy he was making.”
Yeah, but the library was closed down…
Also – the interwebs have many, many, many virtues – but an editorial oversight process is mostly not one of them. Books still have the upper hand in verifiable accuracy.
7 replies on “Cutting Libraries in a Recession”
[…] saw this post on my co-workers blog and couldn’t agree more! Now I can’t remember the last time I was in a library but I do […]
Full props to the sentiment, but to be more precise — wouldn’t cutting libraries during a recession be more like cutting pharmacies in a plague, and cutting education more like cutting hospitals?
ehh, for a tech dude/promulgator, doncha know that most libraries are now being superceded by the interpipes? internet? known in some circles as DARPA-spawn? just sayin’
Frank: Most libraries are adapting to become the go-to place to access the interpipes. Many people can only afford to get their broadband internet access at library computers.
There’s also the matter of a lot of information and literature existing only in dead-tree form.
There is nothing that prevents a library from soliciting donations to advance their program. If a given library is truly a good idea those people with money to spend will donate it to a good cause. The inverse is worth keeping in mind. There are taxpayers who might need the money more than a library needs any given 1,000 books and the staff to support those books.
I disagree with the analogy above. Per Wikipedia the bubonic plague hasn’t been a significant natural issue for a hundred years and even if it resurfaced doesn’t require a hospital to treat. The creator should have researched the analogy he was making.
“The creator should have researched the analogy he was making.”
Yeah, but the library was closed down…
Also – the interwebs have many, many, many virtues – but an editorial oversight process is mostly not one of them. Books still have the upper hand in verifiable accuracy.