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Friday, 19 May, 2000, 09:34 GMT 10:34 UK
Is there a future for public libraries?
As British public libraries celebrate their 150th birthday, Culture Secretary Chris Smith is announcing new nationwide standards to ensure minimum opening times and spending on more books.Disclaimer: The BBC will put up as many of your comments as possible but we cannot guarantee that all e-mails will be published. The BBC reserves the right to edit comments that are published.
The library has been in decline for the last two decades and with the electronic revolution it seems people are far more likely to surf the net for entertainment than they are to pick up a book.
Can libraries shrug off their fuddy-duddy image and "shushing" librarians to reclaim their position in the community? What would you like to see there? When was the last time you got a book out on loan? Do you prefer to buy rather than borrow?
I spend an average of 10 hours a day on the Internet, but I don't see it as a substitute for libraries. Accessing the Web there is just one thing. Besides, a library is a place, with an atmosphere that varies from hour to hour, a place with people in it, warmth and comfort, sights and sounds. The Internet is not a substitute.
Our family uses the local library regularly. The kids love being able to select and borrow items and we read lots of books we certainly would never buy. The internet may replace the reference sections of a library for many better off people with computer access, but they are an essential resource for us all, especially those on low income. They are also a valuable community focus in small towns or villages. We would struggle to keep up with our family's appetite for reading without the library.
Annie Jay, UK
The libraries in England have been run-down for many years. Successive governments have used the old British Rail method of closure by stealth. Make sure that the libraries are open in an irregular pattern that makes it difficult for many people to use them. You can then make the excuse that nobody is using them and cut the budgets. This means fewer new books which also means that the standard of the remaining books will fall as they have to be retained for longer periods.
I am a public librarian and I am extremely proud of the fact. A major part of my current role is improving access to library services for people who are older or have disabilities, but I also spent a number of years working with children & schools. The range of users of libraries is a huge strength. Free access to libraries for recreation and information is vital in my part of the UK.
I work in a community college library, and am responsible for collection development in the Computer Studies area. The computer studies students are our highest users for print materials. Libraries are still relevant; in fact, they may be more relevant than ever as a place the public can go for information that is reliable, current and accessible to all.
The real reason that people who think libraries are boring still cling to such an outmoded idea is that they are stupid enough to believe the negative images that journalists and media types, being too lazy to go to a library and look up the true facts, constantly broadcast!
No, there is no future for libraries. Why?
Because people don't want to read anymore.
And, the only way to attract them to the library is
to furnish the public the use of 'free' computers and
access to the 'internet'. So, libraries as we know them
are going to change in their function as they once were.
Neither. Within the foreseeable future paper copies of any original piece of physical paper information will disappear. I know it sounds gross but is will not only improve accessibility but also drastically improve the world's forest situation.
Sorry librarians, If I were you I would start a career in electronic document management (EDM)
Developed and modernised public libraries are essential elements of education, 'lifelong learning' and society.
Incorporation of the internet and community services into libraries if done effectively would almost certainly give them back the role and status that they used to have and still deserve, if not as much, more.
Libraries are also essential to integrating developments in communication and technology into society.
Older generations for example would feel much more comfortable learning about new technology from libraries than from product manuals.
Stewart Duffill, England
Libraries need to become more professional and customer focused.
The staff in my local library are often scruffily dressed and appear to regard customers as an interruption to their personal phone calls.
Also, if my local Blockbuster video store can stay open until 11 p.m. and have an out of hours drop off box, why can't my library offer these facilities?
I'm typing this message in my local library. I don't know what I would do without it. I reckon I must have about £200 of books on loan at the moment.
Johnathan Reeves, London, UK
I am currently studying Library Science in the USA and also work in a library at
my university. Libraries do have a place in the modern world. They will remain centres of knowledge. Like all businesses, they must adjust to the changing world, but in a society where knowledge is more abundant than ever, it is important to keep libraries as places where one can find dependable, reliable, and useful information of all types.
Electronic media are only one additional way of communication - nobody really ever expects people stop seeing each other just because there is something like the telephone, do they? The libraries of the future will enable everyone to access any medium which is used for human communication: be it books, videos, audio tapes or any other type.
Personally, I love to read - but I hate sitting in libraries and only ever did so when I had a report or similar to write for school and needed to go back and forth between books.
There are plenty of 'shushing' libraries around and to be honest I find it more annoying that there is no background noise. If you want silence while you read, borrow the book and go home.
Public libraries are the lifeblood of many communities. We all have a moral responsibility to ourselves and future generations to ensure that they survive and thrive.
Dan Peters, UK
I could not afford to keep my children supplied with sufficient bedtime story books
if it were not for my local library. I would use it more, but it is shut in the evenings
and has short opening hours on Saturdays. When are working parents supposed to take their children? If this country wants to promote literacy, we should invest in libraries and keep them open during hours people can visit them.
This would be a real shame. My two young children love having a local library - it even has a story time where local women come and read to pre-school children once a week. I'd personally like to see libraries equipped with the ability to lend the new e-books that are slowly coming to market. Libraries provide a great focal point for rural communities, and it would be a tragedy if any were to close.
How can people realise the true potential of public libraries when the government is unwilling to maintain, let alone develop, the present service?
What sort of message does this give out the public? It tells us that public libraries are outdated and no longer relevant, when the opposite is true.
The 'electronic revolution' should be taking place within the library, allowing access for all to an invaluable resource.
Why the assumption that people will be able to get onto the net for access all the time? For some the only place they can access the internet may well be - at their local library.
Besides, what do people do when they want to read a whole lot of text they've downloaded? They print it onto paper. Why waste all that time and money finding and downloading a file, then printing it out if you know the library has a copy in an ideal format.
Yes Libraries are important. I want to work in the film industry in future, and this is one area where books are notoriously expensive to buy even when not totally up-to-date. Without the library, these out of print books simply wouldn't have been available for me to start learning the basics before I could afford to buy the books, some as much as £40. As for the building itself there's nothing wrong with having a non school-related area in a town where you can read and study in peace.
I think libraries will always exist for the simple reason that electronic media cannot fulfil the role that a book does; people will always love to read books in bed, in the garden, at the beach or to their children. Internet can never replace these types of life-long pleasures. Long live libraries!
Selena, Hong Kong
Libraries will never be out of date as long as their directors keep them up with what the public wants.
My local public library is great! We can reserve books from home via the internet. There is a variety of programs for children to encourage them to read more, and the Friends of the Library club is flourishing. It's a pleasure to visit the library, as the staff are friendly and there are plenty of comfortable chairs and desks available. The Internet is such a solitary pursuit - nothing will ever replace actually going out and meeting people!
Mark Lisle, Germany
Books have the virtue of being tested. If you pick a text off the shelf you can be confident that no one would have published the thing if it was rubbish. If you look for information on the internet, especially scientific papers, you end up with endless, untrusted papers written by any old quack with a computer.
I grew up surrounded by books, I live surrounded by books, and I love to read to children. A computer will never replace the tactile feel of a substantial cover and fresh pages. Our librarians are incredible resources for research, writing, etc. Yet up to date media/computer equipment is expensive and the library staff seems to constantly be learning new technology so they can teach us! And all of us still love a great new book.
Mark Lardner, UK
I would love to make more use of the local public library, but the hours are hopeless and too much of what they offer depends on asking the librarians for help. The ordering of books from other libraries should be made accessible to ordinary users.
As a former public librarian, I am concerned at the decline in quality in many public libraries. It is alas too late, to reverse the damage by political and commercial interests to our once fine library system. Far too many books of value have been simply thrown away, and that, coupled with the narrowing of subject coverage, as pressure to provide 'issue statistics' at the expense of
all, and the reduction in funding, has resulted in a paucity of both depth
and breadth of book provision which would appall those who established
our public libraries.
Take libraries out of politics, local and national, and set higher standards.
We owe it to ourselves, and our children for their future.
Alan Henderson, Australia
The internet does not replace traditional libraries. One of the problems is the still very primitive social interaction of the internet: issues of copyright, intellectual property, re-publishing and getting paid for publishing content are not technically solved. With the internet you enter a simplistic world of piracy, broken links and little content.
When was the last time you went into a public library and saw rows of dusty books and "shushing" librarians?! Sure, a few exist like this, but many more of these stereotypes exist in peoples heads than in real life.The national grid for learning, open learning areas (where public library users collect email, surf the web, learn how to use software packages. - all these are increasingly available at public libraries. Books are great for some things and computers for others - they compliment each other perfectly in the knowledge economy.
The happy thing about all this is that I'm not the only one who does this. As a result, my local branch has a full collection of the latest fiction and non fiction around.
Books are still better than the current crop of pictures and TV shows that we are inflicted with. Now the internet is something else entirely.
Philip Grebner, USA
I think libraries for first time have got the opportunity to change into centres of information. If librarians make use of this advantage, libraries could change completely their roles. They could lead people to get the appropriate information.
The net is perhaps beginning to undermine the role of the library as a source for certain types of knowledge, but a printed book is still the best medium over the net for practical reasons.
Malcolm McCandless, Scotland
'Imagine if a new craze suddenly came over from America called "the Library". Inside were these things called "books" about everything.... And you could take these texts out of the library for free because these 'book' things were even more portable than a laptop... We would think it was the most fantastic development in the world.'
John Cullen, Ireland
C. Smith, UK
Where would we be without libraries? I for one grew up with a regular weekly trip to the library with my parents to salve a young boys need for information in all its forms. The gradual running down of libraries and the cutting of their book buying power has been a crime of the highest order. When it comes to the idea of a resurgent education policy and I hope Labour keep their promises on this one.
I now frequently buy books as I like to reread and have the collection but this all stemmed from libraries and their ability to fire a young persons mind with more interest than television ever can on its own.
I feel that the public libraries will still be there despite the traumatic erosion of its catchment population by the electronic media. Though the electronic media has a lot of variety, some people still prefer 'hard copy' books. .
Over the last twenty years, public libraries have been under constant threat of cuts and reducing resources. In most local authority budgets, public libraries receive 2% or less of the total. This is what has caused apparent declines in demand, not an actual reduction in local needs for the services they offer. Despite lack of resources, many public libraries have started to respond to local demand by introducing new services or methods. For example, in many libraries there is now free access to the internet for any library user. You need to get away from uninformed stereotypical images and look at functions and services. Public libraries are about giving every member of their local community access to information.
I think there is still a place for the public library. It should be a valuable source of reference as well as providing recreational reading matter but the key thing is to move with the times, provide cheap and plentiful web access and e-mail for all, pulling down some of the barriers that are starting to form in E society, between those on and off line.
I use both the internet and books as a matter of routine but I could not function without books. To many that are not computer literate, books are a vital source of inspiration, knowledge and enjoyment. Libraries are as much an integral part of our society as pubs, parks and ancient landmarks. The degree to which a country can call itself "civilised" is dependent upon the importance it places on learning and freedom of speech. I believe that books alone can provide the basic ingredients of civilisation, whilst the electronic media is a mere specialism which lacks the personal warmth and accessibility of the printed word.
Why is there a need to 'shrug off.. shushing librarians'? Don't you need quiet to read?
The big problem in New York is that public libraries are too often full of noisy kids whose parents send them there to hang out after school finishes.
In fancier neighbourhoods, small kids are brought there by the maids/babysitters who, too often, leave them to play (and make noise).
We need to remember what a library is for -- while it may now have the extra service of online resource centre (NYPL branches all have internet access for the users), it's not a day-care centre.
Librarians seem unable to control the noisy kids and unwilling to throw them out.
Nicky Parsons, UK
Last year in Camden, North London, after a campaign lasting many months, 12 Labour councillors finally had the courage to break from the Labour whip to back a Conservative motion to keep Camden's libraries open. This was Labour's first defeat in Camden since they seized power in 1971 and shows how much support the library network has in my local area.
Libraries face a huge problem - simply providing books won't ensure their survival, but providing their customers with the latest in technology, such as videos, dvds and internet access can't be achieved without major investment from the government. It will be a sad day for Britain and an even sadder day for the future of the UK's young people the day that the libraries start to close.
Computers are no substitute for books. Close libraries and close opportunity. Most Latin American countries have virtually no libraries. Want to live like them, in poverty and ignorance? Abandon your libraries and slip back into the Middle Ages.
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