Are public libraries becoming obsolete?

[Smeagol]

I hate to say it but I wonder if brick and mortar libraries all over town are becoming a waste of money in consideration of advances in digital media, digital literature and online learning.

I haven't estimated the numbers but I wonder would if it would be cheaper to have one central library that's easy to get to like downtown in every city and in the basement house servers that the public may access by logging in on their PCs, tablets, e-readers and video streaming devices of everything in the library and more. Would it even be cheaper to subsidize or even buy everyone or at least fulltime students an iPad or similar device every several years? My biggest concern is I do believe some people need to leave their environments and find sanctuaries for learning because of drama, etc. going on in their homes.

 

[Slartibartfast]

The purpose of the library seems to be pretty well served by the internet. However, I wouldn't say its time to get rid of them yet until internet access is universal and universally affordable.

 

[mak2]

As a kid I spent a lot of time in the library. I love books and really hate to see them go, but go they must. Universities still maintain libraries, but they are turning into big computer cafes complete with coffee shops. Soon, probably the next ten years, the only libraries left around will be museums of the old days.

 

[TeleKat]

Libraries are, for the most part, already obselete. Libraries are now primarily used for the free internet. Perhaps it would be cheaper to look into public internet cafes instead of libraries. They could provide free internet and a relaxing atmosphere. At least, this way, they would be cheaper and probably more widely used.

 

[ocean515]

I hate to say it but I wonder if brick and mortar libraries all over town are becoming a waste of money in consideration of advances in digital media, digital literature and online learning.

I haven't estimated the numbers but I wonder would if it would be cheaper to have one central library that's easy to get to like downtown in every city and in the basement house servers that the public may access by logging in on their PCs, tablets, e-readers and video streaming devices of everything in the library and more. Would it even be cheaper to subsidize or even buy everyone or at least fulltime students an iPad or similar device every several years? My biggest concern is I do believe some people need to leave their environments and find sanctuaries for learning because of drama, etc. going on in their homes.

The shame of removing public libraries is that it removes the printed record of man and it's accomplishments. The fear is that digital media provides an opportunity to control what is available, including the history that books contain.

A very dangerous proposition that involves pictures of bonfires feed by books people don't want others to see.

 

[joG]

I hate to say it but I wonder if brick and mortar libraries all over town are becoming a waste of money in consideration of advances in digital media, digital literature and online learning.

I haven't estimated the numbers but I wonder would if it would be cheaper to have one central library that's easy to get to like downtown in every city and in the basement house servers that the public may access by logging in on their PCs, tablets, e-readers and video streaming devices of everything in the library and more. Would it even be cheaper to subsidize or even buy everyone or at least fulltime students an iPad or similar device every several years? My biggest concern is I do believe some people need to leave their environments and find sanctuaries for learning because of drama, etc. going on in their homes.

Probably they are not yet redundant. They will become so possibly.

 

[Thrilla]

eventually, libraries will be replaced with online public collections of book and such.

the notion of libraries will not be obsolete... the brick and mortar aspect of them will be, however.
( and with them, the profession of "Librarian")

 

[joG]

The purpose of the library seems to be pretty well served by the internet. However, I wouldn't say its time to get rid of them yet until internet access is universal and universally affordable.

That is, what i would have said.

 

[Slartibartfast]

eventually, libraries will be replaced with online public collections of book and such.

the notion of libraries will not be obsolete... the brick and mortar aspect of them will be, however.
( and with them, the profession of "Librarian")

The profession of librarian has largely been replaced already by the DBA.

 

[PoS]

Its sad that public libraries will soon be gone, Ive always liked them- there were times when I couldnt stand my parents so I would hang out in a public library as a kid, it was a refuge of knowledge and entertainment for me before the internet. The danger of losing printed books and having everything in digital storage is that one single EMP blast can wipe out digital storage completely. The ancient world once used stone/clay tablets for their records and they are still around after thousands of years unlike digital media which is expected to last no more than 25 years, I guess our ancestors werent as dumb as we thought.

 

[Crosscheck]

I have neighbors who are both librarians and yes libraries are going the way of VHS tapes. It is an entirely different clientele at the libraries today now than it was when you were a kid.
Part of their job now is keeping patrons from surfing porn on the library computers set up for patrons.

 

[Thom Paine]

As a kid I spent a lot of time in the library. I love books and really hate to see them go, but go they must. Universities still maintain libraries, but they are turning into big computer cafes complete with coffee shops. Soon, probably the next ten years, the only libraries left around will be museums of the old days.

I have made that exact statement for the last 20 years..... a shame but more than a probability.

A Library is a hallowed place, like the aroma of a fine supper, can be felt, tasted, and smelled by walking through the door. Their demise will leave an insatiable hunger never again fulfilled.

Shhhhhh, people are reading. Have reverence for knowledge.

Gutenberg is sobbing.

Thom Paine

 

[MaggieD]

I hate to say it but I wonder if brick and mortar libraries all over town are becoming a waste of money in consideration of advances in digital media, digital literature and online learning.

I haven't estimated the numbers but I wonder would if it would be cheaper to have one central library that's easy to get to like downtown in every city and in the basement house servers that the public may access by logging in on their PCs, tablets, e-readers and video streaming devices of everything in the library and more. Would it even be cheaper to subsidize or even buy everyone or at least fulltime students an iPad or similar device every several years? My biggest concern is I do believe some people need to leave their environments and find sanctuaries for learning because of drama, etc. going on in their homes.

I see our local public library remaining relevant by offering tons of kids' programs. And anything that gets kids reading is aces in my book.

What lie would teenagers tell their parents if there were no more libraries??

 

[Rainman05]

Libraries are becoming/are obsolete but that doesn't mean we should abolish them.

There should be public libraries funded by the state and kept alive. For variety of reasons.
Here are a few, just at the top of my head:
-When you walk into a library and go look at a certain segment of books, you explore and find books you didn't know existed(hell, even types of literature you may not know existed, a lot of stuff).
-Some people find it easier to read off of books rather than a digital media like a PC or a tablet.
-Books are and will always be less expensive than tablets so getting a few books on a particular subject may be easier. And also, filling up a library card and having access for free to a library of books can save you a lot of money. That is, if there won't be a public digital library where you can get all the books that you'd find in a public library for free.

And to be more specific on a certain issue.
technical libraries will always exist. Like in technical universities. They'll never be fully digitized (so be only online, no physical space) though digital integration already exists. Digital access to the library inventory and make online requests exists in all respectable universities.


So while private libraries won't exist, if they still do, I support a public works project of centralization in all cities of a public library that is vast and expansive and well supplied with tons of books of different kinds. It is cheaper than you think and worth the cost.
A smart city would integrate said public library with the educational facilities in the city. There is a lot of tweaking to be done. But private libraries will stop existing. As will private book stores. But physical copies of books will never stop existing. And neither should state-run public libraries.

 

[WCH]

Except for the poor and homeless who use their A/C.

 

[CalGun]

I won't miss a library, but I'd like to save the money we waste on them.

 

[DDD]

Its sad that public libraries will soon be gone, Ive always liked them- there were times when I couldnt stand my parents so I would hang out in a public library as a kid, it was a refuge of knowledge and entertainment for me before the internet. The danger of losing printed books and having everything in digital storage is that one single EMP blast can wipe out digital storage completely. The ancient world once used stone/clay tablets for their records and they are still around after thousands of years unlike digital media which is expected to last no more than 25 years, I guess our ancestors werent as dumb as we thought.

This is my position also. Yes the digital data may be stored in several areas to secure itself should one source be done with, but it just does not feels safe with digital data.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Its sad that public libraries will soon be gone, Ive always liked them- there were times when I couldnt stand my parents so I would hang out in a public library as a kid, it was a refuge of knowledge and entertainment for me before the internet. The danger of losing printed books and having everything in digital storage is that one single EMP blast can wipe out digital storage completely. The ancient world once used stone/clay tablets for their records and they are still around after thousands of years unlike digital media which is expected to last no more than 25 years, I guess our ancestors werent as dumb as we thought.

Its a shame, but storing data in clay isn't very cost effective and thats the world we live in.

You may find this of interest: Rosetta Project - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Henrin]

There should have never been public libraries to begin with.

 

[TNAR]

Libraries are an excellent example of why central authority will always lag behind society in general. The only way to determine the efficacy of a library is to remove public funding and see if private patronage can support it.

 

[nota bene]

Here is a snippet from a Slate article on the future of libraries:

Both maker spaces [spaces where library patrons can create] and Library as Incubator–style art programs engage library patrons to produce their own content. Also in this vein, some wealthier libraries have begun hosting self-publishing and print-on-demand technologies like the Espresso Book Machine. If basic Internet access is no longer anything to write home about, it’s notable that the cutting-edge technologies that libraries can boast of providing on-site access to are used more for creating and less for passive, traditional library activities like reading and watching.

On a broader scale, the recently-launched Digital Public Library of America, operating out of the Boston Public Library, is building a nationwide digital collection of historical materials sourced everywhere from libraries and private collections to family photo albums and boxes of old letters in the attic. According to founder Dan Cohen, the DPLA’s ambition is to work with local libraries to collect materials and perhaps eventually to present them at touch-screens designed to help patrons explore the history of their specific communities. “We love the idea of making a connection between the digital and physical realm,” Cohen says.

Here, the new emphasis on user-generated content overlaps with one of the longtime pillars of the library ideal, going back to Alexandria—a comprehensive archive of human knowledge, imagination, wisdom, and experience. The local library, the community’s traditional point of contact with that vast archive, becomes a place where we not only download culture, but upload it too. The future of the library: How they’ll evolve for the digital age.

 

[Koros]

There should have never been public libraries to begin with.

Care to expand on that position?

 

[imagep]

The shame of removing public libraries is that it removes the printed record of man and it's accomplishments. The fear is that digital media provides an opportunity to control what is available, including the history that books contain.

A very dangerous proposition that involves pictures of bonfires feed by books people don't want others to see.

But we aren't talking about destroying information, just making it available over the internet instead of on paper.

 

[imagep]

Its sad that public libraries will soon be gone, Ive always liked them- there were times when I couldnt stand my parents so I would hang out in a public library as a kid, it was a refuge of knowledge and entertainment for me before the internet. The danger of losing printed books and having everything in digital storage is that one single EMP blast can wipe out digital storage completely. The ancient world once used stone/clay tablets for their records and they are still around after thousands of years unlike digital media which is expected to last no more than 25 years, I guess our ancestors werent as dumb as we thought.

So all books should be produce using stone and clay tablets?

Paper copies and emp proof digital master copies could still be available.

 

[imagep]

I see our local public library remaining relevant by offering tons of kids' programs. And anything that gets kids reading is aces in my book.

What lie would teenagers tell their parents if there were no more libraries??

In the town that my kid goes to college, there is a bar called "The Library". There is also "Group Therapy".