[README] Is the Public Library Obsolete? - Comments Page 2

The Edmonton Public Library in Edmonton, Alberta Canada is thriving and will soon move into newly renovated facilities. Our Library was the first in Canada to win top honours, Library of the Year, from the Cengage Learning and Library Journal Magazine, in 2014

I live in a state capital that has an excellent public library. However, because of the state's finances I am concerned that the library will be closed. I use the facilities weekly and it is usually packed. All the branches have been shuttered. It would be shameful, but not surprising, if the main branch was closed to make way for parking or a green space.

Governments don't like libraries because they refuse to cave in to demands to not hold or circulate certain controversial books.

Secondly, collections, reference material and tools etc are, in today's jargon, curated ie the quality, value has been assessed. Librarians can guide patrons to reliable sources of info.

The ones that want to close libraries are the same ones that want to cut social security,medicare,and healthcare.
I'll leave it to you to figure out which ones they are.

I use my library more than ever now. Thanks to the Mid Hudson Library System, my library now encompasses many libraries scattered across several counties. No need to buy books - I can order up almost everything I want through them. Same goes for movies, music, magazines, ebooks, research items....

I read 2 books a week from my public
Library. I hope they
Never close. My fire
Is the second tablet
I have gone through..Thank you...

Unfortunately, "the vast amount of information available through the Internet" is usually opinion and not fact, so research can be compromised. I do most of my research in the reference section of my public library.

I do, however, like the all round convenience of carrying hundreds of books in the palm of my hand. The only inconvenience of reading ebooks I find, is when I want to turn back a few pages to check on something that has gone before, like the map inside the front cover being referred to.

I realize the free library card I have is paid for via yearly property taxes, but this hasn't stopped me from enjoying the library more than ever before. Being a senior on a fixed income, I cannot afford to buy books or movies anymore, so knowing my library has anything I want has made me a happy camper. I have a Kindle, but nothing beats holding a book in my hands. I can read magazines, newspapers from all over the country - and abroad, all from the comfort of my local library. If I don't like the book or movie I checked out? I just take it back for something else. No money lost.

EBooks and reading lots of material off of the screen give me headaches. Give me a book any time. I can read it anywhere and without INet access. Local library here is great. Lots of programs, art shows, live music, radio plays and lectures. It's not going anywhere but moves with the times.

Many libraries have programs and activities for young grandchildren. Printed books are a lot harder to edit than internet stuff. My romance with books has gone on for decades. There's no chance of me divorcing my partner.

I go to the library usually once a week. I do not check out printed books like I used to as I have an ereader. I do check out Kindle books from the library. The library is also my biggest source of audiobooks, whether in the form of disks I check out or download via OverDrive. I also check out movies. I go to the library more now than ever.

I love my local library.

I've been using the library since I was a child and got my first library card. I've used it thru elementary, high school and college. I've used it in adulthood. And, now as a retiree, I use it even more. In addition to taking books, DVDs and CDs out, I attend a non-fiction book club regularly. I've attended movies and lectures. I met with a Chinese grad student to tutor her in English at a public library. The public library is a necessary part of life no matter who you are.

I'm another one of those bookworms who love having real books, magazines & newspapers in my hand. I've been using libraries since I got my first children's library card as a child. My public library is in a working-class city where there have been cuts in the past because of budget deficits. However, the library continues to be part of the 21st century, offering most of the electronic bells and whistles in place in wealthier communities. And my nextdoor working-class city city just opened a fabulous state-of-the art new library a few minutes from my house which is the closest one open every day including Sunday. I also am one of those who goes to the library every week. I find it sometimes difficult to read stuff on screens, whether it be my 24-inch monitor, my cell phone, my laptop, or my tablets, all of which get regular use, but nothing beats having a book in my hand, whether it be a regency romance or a treatise on capitalist economics. While you shouldn't let me loose in a bookstore (I have way too many books) I save quite a bit of money, getting books that I know I will only read once from the library and/or "auditioning" books that I end up buying. I love both of the libraries that I patronize &can't begin to imagine what life would be like for me and thousands of other folks should they close.

I spent 30 years as the librarian for my agency. While many of the questions I answered could have been answered by a public library, for some, I had a reputation for being a magician. The internet did not stop that. In searching Google, people still have to know where to look. Nonetheless, the powers that be do not have a high opinion of librarians or libraries. We are little old ladies dealing in children's books as far as they are concerned.