Libraries

This is our library... Beautiful but more of a pit stop than somewhere with many books! Just next to the church in the oldest part of the village...

The-Hidden-Treasure-that-is-Lingfield-Library.jpg

We used to use it when Abbs was little as her school just just past it so it was handy. But, we don't go there anymore.
 
Our library system was the victim of a ransomware attack back in May. It took till mid-August to get databases etc. fully working again. A lot of their public computers are still down. It cost them $1 million, not to pay the ransom, but for consultants and experts to fix the computers, none of it covered by insurance.😡
 
Anyone got a little free library near them

Take a Book. Share a Book. - Little Free Library

We've got one official one, and then further out people have created their own in bus shelters or phone boxes.

During lockdown I started an unofficial one in a phone box that became popular until bt wanted to remove the phone box. L9ads of people said they'd start it back up again elsewhere but never did.
 
nightshade said:
Anyone got a little free library near them

Take a Book. Share a Book. - Little Free Library

We've got one official one, and then further out people have created their own in bus shelters or phone boxes.

During lockdown I started an unofficial one in a phone box that became popular until bt wanted to remove the phone box. L9ads of people said they'd start it back up again elsewhere but never did.
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Funny you wrote this today! Our street library was working quite well. But its school holidays and its been cleaned out. I only just now on our walk fished three books out of the water fountain and put back in the street box again (they were mostly dry).
 
nightshade said:
Anyone got a little free library near them

Take a Book. Share a Book. - Little Free Library
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I have a number in my general area. During the Covid pandemic, there was a lot of great stuff, as everyone was clearing things out of the house. Nowadays, they're not as good, but there's an occasional find. I don't take or leave a book often, but I have a weird quirk of tidying them up whenever I come to one!

November said:
Funny you wrote this today! Our street library was working quite well. But its school holidays and its been cleaned out. I only just now on our walk fished three books out of the water fountain and put back in the street box again (they were mostly dry).
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Why do people trash them? Several near me have had their little windows damaged or torn off. It's just a little free service, why vandalize it? 🙁
 
Funding for libraries is being cut back due to the existence of Wikipedia and other sources of information. Suppose you were a student with an assignment to write about the inventor of the programmable computer. Would you go to the library to get a book (which some other student took out already to read or just to make sure you couldn't get it) or would you look up Ada Augusta in Wikipedia? The Wikipedia entry is quite sufficient to start with.
 
Ethan Reigns said:
Funding for libraries is being cut back due to the existence of Wikipedia and other sources of information. Suppose you were a student with an assignment to write about the inventor of the programmable computer. Would you go to the library to get a book (which some other student took out already to read or just to make sure you couldn't get it) or would you look up Ada Augusta in Wikipedia? The Wikipedia entry is quite sufficient to start with.
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Wikipedia wasn't allowed as a resource when I was at school as it can be altered by anyone.
 
nightshade said:
Wikipedia wasn't allowed as a resource when I was at school as it can be altered by anyone.
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It's only when you have to cite your sources that this comes into play and that usually starts at university. I was thinking of someone having to write a paper or essay in high school. The libraries in our area are running out of books because municipal governments are close to bankruptcy and books are regarded as a frivolous expense. Governments will opt for things like red light cameras and photo radar as revenue streams and we have both in our county, but the libraries are approaching empty. The library closest to us has a theatre attached and the city makes money from permits to hold an event plus attendance at the event.

Street libraries are common south of us in the city and they seem to be stocked but they are largely fiction of some sort like romances or mysteries.

One of the biggest effects is that librarians are quite often freedom of speech absolutists and governments want to eliminate our freedoms to the maximum extent possible. They are not going to support something that will oppose them. In Russia, there are 400 people in jail because of things they posted on social media. In England, this number is 3300.
 
Stake fodder said:
I have a number in my general area. During the Covid pandemic, there was a lot of great stuff, as everyone was clearing things out of the house. Nowadays, they're not as good, but there's an occasional find. I don't take or leave a book often, but I have a weird quirk of tidying them up whenever I come to one!


Why do people trash them? Several near me have had their little windows damaged or torn off. It's just a little free service, why vandalize it? 🙁
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Unfortunately book bans are on the rise in the USA. And several states are working on legislation to include Little Free Libraries when it comes to books not being allowed on shelves. It saddens me that I'm not surprised that some are vandalized, I'm surprised that it isn't more.
 
Kendar said:
Unfortunately book bans are on the rise in the USA. And several states are working on legislation to include Little Free Libraries when it comes to books not being allowed on shelves. It saddens me that I'm not surprised that some are vandalized, I'm surprised that it isn't more.
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I’m not sure it’s parents so much as it is the children. One of the libraries near me was vandalized constantly by middle school children who were routinely being let out of school an hour early on Wednesdays. The director told me that the kids were pooping on the ground in the bathrooms and at one point even urinated in the elevator. The whole downtown actually had to petition the school to stop that nonsense because the kids were so demonic that they were refused entry into stores.

I blame the rise of culture that has sort of implanted this idea that there are no consequences for your actions. I seriously worry for the future of our planet
 
November
November
Yeah its definitely kids trashing our street library and town. Some only know how to write their own name... So they graffiti their own name all over the park
Our library has stopped doing late fees and charges if you want to order a book, so it's now completely free and you can renew as much as you want unless someone has requested the book.
 
nightshade said:
Our library has stopped doing late fees and charges if you want to order a book, so it's now completely free and you can renew as much as you want unless someone has requested the book.
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Our library system stopped late fees, too. I think it's caused some slowdown on returns, but I don't have any stats.
 
I love my local libraries- I used to volunteer w/ them from ages 13-18, then had an internship the summer after high school. I love visiting them even if it's just to sit on my laptop for an hour or two. The atmosphere is just comforting, although I'm very lucky to live in a county with some a particularly well funded library system.
 
Libraries? Are those still a thing? I thought they were all closed when the internet came about? You know, if it's on the internet then it must be true, right? LOL
 
Im so mad at the libby ap cos I keep accidently borrowing graphic novels instead of the books I actually want. They seem to have everything I want in graphic novel form but not in the plain words that I am looking for! I hate comics and cartoons, they take away from the experience for me. I love imagining the worlds in my own way and the comics are just limiting and frustrating. Grr argh.

Luckily its getting easier to find popular novels online now, just with adverts.
 
I forgot the library is closed on Wednesdays, I was going to pick up my reservation today, but I'll have to do it before work tomorrow now.
 
Moptop said:
Libraries? Are those still a thing? I thought they were all closed when the internet came about? You know, if it's on the internet then it must be true, right? LOL
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They are certainly still a thing, but are definitely changing. For some reason I've always had a disproportionate number of librarian friends. All 3 are early 50s and have been working in libraries for decades.

The biggest change seems to be that a library science degree is no longer as important as an Information science degree. There's a lot more technology involved in libraries then there was when they graduated, and pretty much all their libraries are now hiring people with IS degrees.

It's a big worry for one of my friends. She has some significant health problems and is probably going to lose her job*. And she's afraid that even if she's able to work again she won't get hired since her degree is considered "outdated".

*Yes, she's used up all her leave and FMLA. It will be sad if she loses her job, but not unexpected.
 
Yes, that would be very sad, I feel for her. There are a lot of folks because of age or because their jobs are becoming outdated that have been tossed to the side or have their positions eliminated because advancement of technology. That is very unfortunate because with the older working population leaving there also is a lot of hands on knowledge of how to do things manually before technology took over that will be lost forever. The younger workforce doesn't want to enter to do manual labor jobs such as house framers or builders, electricians, plumbers, or repairmen. They want the jobs where they think all they will do is play on their computers and phones all day.
 
I couldn't remember how many books I was allowed to take out at once, but it's 20 now! The librarian said it's as you can now renew as many times as you want so people take out more.
 
I've started to request books that they don't stock, so hopefully they'll start getting a better range of books.

I've got two reservations currently, one due in hopefully next week and the other when it gets returned.
 
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