Posted by sohkamyung 13 hours ago
some of the libraries I've seen have morphed more into like makerspaces and/or meeting spaces rather than just places to get books
I am blessed with a huge apartment but even i have to make decisions about what tools to keep around given the space. Yeah i could buy something from harbor freight and use it once and donate to the thrift store, but how much better if my neighbors and i could just share a big collection of stuff we all might need once every year or two
https://oodihelsinki.fi/mita-oodilaiset-lukevat-syyskuussa/a...
Libraries should be places where people pickup books and read them, that's it.
They should not be community centers, DYI hobby centers, convention/exhibition places.
I feel they have been co-opted by people who have no interest in knowledge acquisition.
40 years ago books were the only way to obtain knowledge. Nowadays even those who come for the books do so with a laptop for taking notes. If I were a librarian, it would be naive of me not to ask the question "if all the books are online, then why are we here?"
Anecdotally, on the topic of "knowledge acquisition", I used to run a drawing group. Finding a place to do so was a major problem because nobody wanted to invite strangers home and not everybody could afford the ~$20 it would take to stay at a cafe for long. A library with a meeting room would have been our dream solution and perhaps would have kept the group from dissolving.
Given all the stuff I've taken advantage of, if the libraries here were only for borrowing books, they would seem kind of useless. And this is from someone who has the max 30 books checked out right now.
Adapt or die is the way of life.
Wait what? That seems insanely high even for a progressive society.
As a reference point UK is at 30% on YEARLY STATS NOT MONTHLY
>In England, 30% of adults aged 16 and over used a public library service at least once in the previous 12 months.
The soft-play area was heaven for him, and he liked flicking through the donald-duck comic books.
Even now, when he's nine, I go every month or two with him for an afternoon. He has no shortage of books at home, but he gets to run around, look at books, and play with other kids. He enjoys himself enormously.
I will say it’s very very common for folks to use the library for its primary purpose of renting books - which of course requires a visit twice in a month - once to collect and once to return.
Also it's an incredible women magnet :)