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reACTIONary

(5,749 posts)
Fri Nov 29, 2013, 11:46 PM Nov 2013

Been to the library lately?

I get to the library every few weeks or so. Often I'm picking up or dropping off a book for my SO, but I always check out the new arrivals, and generally end bringing something home for myself. And I just like walking around and seeing what's happening. The other day I decided to drive over to the new branch to check it out...

There are a LOT of kids! Some with parents, but most seem to have been dropped off or to have gotten there on their own. They sit at the tables in cliques and seem to be reading and studying together - socializing! - and as an old school library patron the degree of interaction always seems to annoy me a bit. Kids these days!

And, of course, there are the computers. There are quite a few still set up in isolating "study carols". Sometimes, as I stroll around, I guiltily peak at what's on the screen - often looks like job hunting, blogging and chatting, always a few games (Kids now days!) and, of course, homework research. But the big change here is that the patrons (young and old) are bringing in laptops and are sitting around all over the place connected in through the wifi. My son has been to "wifi parties" where the kids get together and sit around in the same room with their laptops connected together - I'm not sure I understand what's going on (probably the point) but maybe the wifi library kids are up to the same.

Downstairs is the video collection, the music collection and the juvenile section - I head upstairs to where the "new arrivals" are supposed to be shelved, and spot a glassed in room that has some "artifacts" on display. Through the glass I spot a very interesting artifact amongst the others - a CARD CATALOG! A sign on the door says its the "library of the county historical society". I figure the catalog is on display as a historical relic of the original library, so I pop in to take a look. I feign interest in the other displays, then ask about the card catalog. Nope, the man behind the desk informs me that it is a real, honest-to-goodness, functioning card catalog. The library system gives them space for their collection, but doesn't integrate it into the county's collection. So they do it the old fashioned way. I look up a few topics in the card catalog, just for old times sake. A tear forms in the corner of my eye.

The new arrivals are right next to the foreign language section. An elderly Asian couple are looking over the selection and when they give me a smile I try out my Chinese phrase on them -that's singular, I'm a one-trick pony - and then ask them to translate some of the titles for me. This is actually something that I used to bug folks about all the time, since I used to stop by and pick up books for my father in law when he was living with us. Someone with "local knowledge" would usually be looking over the selection and would help me pick out books that were on topics of interest to him. I couldn't do it myself!

Then I pursue the new arrivals. This is how I stay current, sort of a "slice of life" of what's new and interesting. On this occasion I pick up a history of Renaissance Faires and another about the "model minority" stereotype (links below).

Then I head out. I skip the check-out line and go through the self service kiosk. All of the books are tagged with RF IDs !!11!! You practically just walk out the door with them and they check themselves out as you leave! (Also, it makes it easy for that guy in the trench coat lurking around just outside the perimeter to id the communists, er, terrorists.)

On the way out, I head off the lobby over to the coffee shop and community room area. In the community room is a large, noisy and active crowd of kids and adults - I check it out and its a ROBOTICS competition. They have arenas set up for the robots to display their prowess and to compete in "task battles" against one another. All around the room are science fair type exhibits for each of the individual teams and robots. They are doing a bake sale to support the competition; I pick up a few cookies for the SO. And everywhere there are kids, kids, kids! Noisy, rambunctious, active and yet, strangely enough, very focused and on-task kids! Sheesh, kids these days!!!!



http://www.amazon.com/Unraveling-Model-Minority-Stereotype-Listening/dp/0807749737

http://www.amazon.com/Well-Met-Renaissance-American-Counterculture/dp/0814771386

90 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Been to the library lately? (Original Post) reACTIONary Nov 2013 OP
Thanks for the report. SheilaT Nov 2013 #1
That's why I always check out the new arrivals... reACTIONary Nov 2013 #2
The new arrivals section is always my first stop Tom Ripley Nov 2013 #28
Oh, yes. I always browse that section first. SheilaT Nov 2013 #36
As someone who has worked in libraries for ten years..... llmart Nov 2013 #75
I miss card catalongs Oscarmonster13 Nov 2013 #3
When I was in college.. reACTIONary Nov 2013 #5
sadly, Oscarmonster13 Nov 2013 #7
I too, was in college during that tranisionary period. Jenoch Nov 2013 #21
My favorite lost library book story: intheflow Nov 2013 #26
When our library went digital, they put those cards next to the computers for progressoid Nov 2013 #16
thanks! Oscarmonster13 Nov 2013 #18
+10 (nt) reACTIONary Nov 2013 #20
I have one of the cabinets from the Tempe Public Library. politicat Nov 2013 #27
Jealous!! progressoid Nov 2013 #47
Wow I'd love one of those! NastyRiffraff Nov 2013 #68
Old card catalogs are highly sought after Tanuki Nov 2013 #44
love it! KoKo Nov 2013 #55
They even have one in their apartment in "Big Bang Theory"! Tanuki Dec 2013 #88
I do too burrowowl Nov 2013 #24
I work at a library Ratty Nov 2013 #32
wow, very cool Oscarmonster13 Nov 2013 #43
I LOVE our library system! Le Taz Hot Nov 2013 #4
The tax dollars make a big difference... reACTIONary Nov 2013 #6
On my last visit to the library noamnety Nov 2013 #8
Why Do They Care? grilled onions Nov 2013 #12
I was shocked it was an issue. noamnety Nov 2013 #29
Unbelivable.... reACTIONary Nov 2013 #15
Don't worry about hell. Curmudgeoness Nov 2013 #79
I miss the Dewey Decimal System. nt awoke_in_2003 Nov 2013 #9
? progressoid Nov 2013 #13
The library of congress... reACTIONary Nov 2013 #17
Ah, progressoid Nov 2013 #22
Last time I wen to the library... awoke_in_2003 Nov 2013 #40
Ours is computer based as well. progressoid Nov 2013 #46
This is the RF ID system... reACTIONary Nov 2013 #53
Yeah, I wasn't clear... awoke_in_2003 Nov 2013 #60
The cards were great for discovering books you may not have even been looking for. progressoid Nov 2013 #62
nice! grasswire Nov 2013 #10
My local branch is similar to yours -- very heavily used by kids to seniors. Gormy Cuss Nov 2013 #11
Check out on-line books! rdharma Nov 2013 #14
I volunteer at my local library... kag Nov 2013 #19
No Rstrstx Nov 2013 #23
The need for libraries is so much more than for books. morningfog Nov 2013 #30
I'm sure for many, but for me going to the library is like going shopping Rstrstx Nov 2013 #37
I think it could go the other way... reACTIONary Nov 2013 #34
I certain;y hope not! Stonepounder Nov 2013 #35
Hehe, oh I fall asleep in front of my laptop all the time Rstrstx Nov 2013 #39
Love it! Tree-Hugger Nov 2013 #25
I like technology but am still somewhat of a Luddite in certain respects Pretzel_Warrior Nov 2013 #31
Old Dallas Library in Dallas dem in texas Nov 2013 #33
This is the best thread ever. SheilaT Nov 2013 #38
I have many, many library stories too! llmart Nov 2013 #76
Long live public libraries! Iwillnevergiveup Nov 2013 #41
That is a beautiful post! defacto7 Nov 2013 #42
Nope CFLDem Nov 2013 #45
You ought to check it out... reACTIONary Nov 2013 #50
Only reason for me to go to a library CFLDem Nov 2013 #52
Thanks for the reminder Trailrider1951 Nov 2013 #48
thank u for reminding us that libraries are central to community life Liberal_in_LA Nov 2013 #49
I avoid our libraries in Los Angeles. The kids kestrel91316 Nov 2013 #51
I have something of the same reaction... reACTIONary Nov 2013 #65
I go everyday they are open. leftyladyfrommo Nov 2013 #54
my kids and i love our public library. Sheri Nov 2013 #56
Great Post and Discussion...Nice to See! KoKo Nov 2013 #57
We go to the library two or three times a week. Love it. Shrike47 Nov 2013 #58
Classical music! progressoid Nov 2013 #61
No, because the librarian is a racist Manifestor_of_Light Nov 2013 #59
"Shit hole" certinally does sum up... reACTIONary Nov 2013 #63
Sadly, it's a pretty little Methodist church. Manifestor_of_Light Dec 2013 #89
Sad that such a bigoted person reigns in a pretty historic building. Manifestor_of_Light Dec 2013 #90
I remember "bookmobiles". justhanginon Nov 2013 #64
Some libraries still have bookmobiles. llmart Nov 2013 #78
I remember bookmobiles too - cozy, a great place for kids to find great books to read. Liberty Belle Dec 2013 #87
The Library? (image heavy) PowerToThePeople Nov 2013 #66
I go to the library all the time - ours is filled with homeless people... polichick Nov 2013 #67
I visited our brand new library a while back. SCVDem Nov 2013 #69
I'm on our library board, and we're always approving new, cool technologies and programs. Common Sense Party Nov 2013 #70
We have a fabulous library Callalily Nov 2013 #71
I go to the library about once a month. lovelyrita Nov 2013 #72
I live in the 'burbs, but... reACTIONary Nov 2013 #85
It's a second home for me shenmue Nov 2013 #73
Message auto-removed Name removed Nov 2013 #74
Jorge Luis Borges summed up my sentiment about libraries rury Nov 2013 #77
Redstate capital Columbia South Carolina just approved taxes for library expansions. johnnyreb Nov 2013 #80
LOVE my library, free access to all latest materials....latest right wing target. joanbarnes Nov 2013 #81
Everything about a library is virtuous. n/t lumberjack_jeff Nov 2013 #82
Yes! I love libraries. LeftishBrit Nov 2013 #83
I just want to add that I grew up going to the library SheilaT Nov 2013 #84
San Diego's county libraries now have a concert series ; city has new glass-domed library Liberty Belle Dec 2013 #86
 

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)
1. Thanks for the report.
Fri Nov 29, 2013, 11:53 PM
Nov 2013

I go to the library every week or so, but my local one, at least when I'm there, isn't quite as lively as yours is.

I honestly miss the old card catalogs. What I loved about them was the ability to stumble across something interesting as you were searching for whatever. The downside of the computer searches is that that sort of serendipity just doesn't happen.

 

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)
36. Oh, yes. I always browse that section first.
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:45 AM
Nov 2013

So many books, so little time.

I often say I sincerely hope there is an afterlife and that there are libraries there.

llmart

(15,499 posts)
75. As someone who has worked in libraries for ten years.....
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 06:42 PM
Nov 2013

and is addicted to reading, I find I can have just as many serendipitous moments by walking up and down the stacks perusing the titles. This is how I find so many things I wouldn't have thought to read. I read the blurbs on the inside covers or back cover.

Libraries took a huge hit when the economy collapsed in 2008. Many of us got our hours cut to shreds along with our benefits or lost our jobs altogether because of the decline in tax revenues. Materials' budgets got slashed along with budgeting for programs. Things are starting to pick up a little, but once something is slashed, it's hard to justify getting it back.

Public libraries are the best example of community sharing!

Oscarmonster13

(209 posts)
3. I miss card catalongs
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 12:04 AM
Nov 2013

for some reason, that musty smell was like coming home.

Spent an entire grade of elementary school in the library instead of at recess, read entire shelves of books, alot of encyclopedia browsing. The books were better company than the kids!

funny, my mom just gave me a book of poetry - it seems to have been lifted from the city library where I grew up, she found it in her attic. Don't know why I took it, but it must have meant something to me at the time

reACTIONary

(5,749 posts)
5. When I was in college..
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 12:11 AM
Nov 2013

...the library was transitioning from card catalog to computer search. The card catalogs were there, about an acre of them, with a few computer terminals. The collection went way, way back. Turn of the century. And I don't mean the current century, I mean the one I was born in. A lot of the cards were done in ink, in very neat legible cursive of many hands.

FYI, Libraries are always getting old, long lost books returned years and decades after they go missing. It happens.

Oscarmonster13

(209 posts)
7. sadly,
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 12:15 AM
Nov 2013

I think the branch this one came from is long gone

I too, was born in the last century...feels like ancient history sometimes describing it to my kids. But at least we live in a rural town and they have a lot of the same pleasures...bike riding, tree forts etc...and yes, they both love books!

 

Jenoch

(7,720 posts)
21. I too, was in college during that tranisionary period.
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:04 AM
Nov 2013

I remember using the reference books that told you where to find a particular magazine (periodical) article. For the life of me, I cannot recall the term used for that reference material.

I wrote a lot of papers in college and always had to have the references. I used 'endnotes' instead of footnotes. It was much easier to add them at the end of the paper along with the bibliography. Do college students still need a bibliography at the end of their papers? Or is everything just assumed to be sucked off the internet?

My kids think I am from the stoneage when I tell them that as a junior in college, I bought a portable, electric typwriter to do college papers. There was a computer lab with mostly Apple IIe computers (there were a few Apple II e computers and some early IBM pc computers) and I typed my final drafts on those computers, but i still needed the typewriter. This was in the early to mid 1980s.

My kids are also amazed when I tell them that my roommates and I shared a telephone and that we had to figure out who had to pay how much for their long distand calls "What's long distance."

(When I moved into my first apartment out of college, my long distance bill was more than my rent. My girlfriend was about 400 miles away. Apparently, watching TV together over long distance was not a good use of my small salary.)

intheflow

(28,403 posts)
26. My favorite lost library book story:
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:18 AM
Nov 2013

I work at a public library. A few years ago, I was boxing up donated books when I came across a deleted library book from the '60s or '70s. It was an art book, not a style that would appeal to my tastes, but a kind of coffee table tome. I was mostly interested in the old library markings flashing me back to my childhood: date stamps from actual rubber stamps! An old library logo!

As I was looking through it, the lead librarian walked by and saw me. She told me a woman had returned it a few days before, 30 years late. The woman was sincerely apologetic, wanted to pay whatever late fees were due, but explained (somewhat sheepishly) that she was a retired art teacher who had just loved the book too dearly to ever return it before. Now, moving into an assisted living situation and downsizing her home, she decided it was time to make amends and clear her good name.

The librarian listened to her story. Instead of chiding her in any way, or demanding exorbitant fines, she invited the woman to pay her dues to society instead by offering a free art class for the library's adult enrichment programming. The woman happily and gratefully agreed.

It was the perfect solution. A retiree is given an opportunity to serve her community, to again be of use, and to clean one "sin" off her slate. The community got a free art class through their library. I will always remember and admire that librarian's wisdom and grace in this instance.

progressoid

(49,824 posts)
16. When our library went digital, they put those cards next to the computers for
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 12:51 AM
Nov 2013

patrons to use for notes. It took nearly a decade to get rid of them all!

I'm nostalgic for those, but really like the convenience and cross referencing capabilities of the new system.

I do wonder where the old cabinets went to though.

And welcome to DU Oscarmonster13!

politicat

(9,808 posts)
27. I have one of the cabinets from the Tempe Public Library.
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:21 AM
Nov 2013

They sold them in the late 1990s after they went digital.

I use the cabinet as a sewing machine table (I sew standing up) and the drawers are perfect for a mildly OCD organizer whose vocation requires hundreds of specialized tools and materials.

It is a very prized possession, worth far more than the pittance I paid for it.

progressoid

(49,824 posts)
47. Jealous!!
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 10:50 AM
Nov 2013

A very prized possession indeed.

I've seen them in "antique" stores for a fair amount of money.

NastyRiffraff

(12,448 posts)
68. Wow I'd love one of those!
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:47 PM
Nov 2013

That picture takes me back.

I visit a library about once a week. I'm lucky that I have four that are nearby. I have read books that I never would have bought and enjoyed.

There was a Congresscreep several years ago who wanted to cut the public library system entirely. I wish I could remember his name. When it was pointed out that some school kids depending on a free library system he replied that they could just go to Amazon.com.

Of course, he was a Republican.

burrowowl

(17,606 posts)
24. I do too
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:10 AM
Nov 2013

there was a serendipity about them, you would be looking for something and then another card would catch your eye and you could discover something interesting along with what you were searching for.

Ratty

(2,100 posts)
32. I work at a library
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:38 AM
Nov 2013

I remember when I was a cataloger in training my mentor told me a story about assigning a certain generic subject. He said he once went to that subject in the card catalog where there were many many cards and noticed the smudging on the first 50 or so of the cards from people's fingers after which the rest were clean. After thumbing through a certain number of cards people gave up. Which told him it wasn't very useful as a subject and he generally stopped assigning it after that. It was a lesson I never forgot and I often think of it to this day. A very low tech way of researching user search patterns. Of course nowdays with combined and keyword searching that's not the issue it once was.

Frankly I'm glad to see the card catalogs go. We all had to do a certain number of hours per week filing and it did a real number on my back and neck.

Oscarmonster13

(209 posts)
43. wow, very cool
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 03:31 AM
Nov 2013

thanks for the story...I know, I am finishing my BA right now and having all the research info digitally is really hard. I find myself printing out pages so I can get my thoughts on order the "old fashioned" way

Le Taz Hot

(22,271 posts)
4. I LOVE our library system!
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 12:06 AM
Nov 2013

We have a large branch downtown but my local branch is very close to my house and I'm in there at least once a month. Our city has a special local tax that is dedicated just to the library system. One of the best things this city ever did.

Great story, btw.

reACTIONary

(5,749 posts)
6. The tax dollars make a big difference...
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 12:13 AM
Nov 2013

...our county's population shows a lot of support for the schools and libraries.

 

noamnety

(20,234 posts)
8. On my last visit to the library
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 12:19 AM
Nov 2013

I stepped forward to silently pay the fine of the person ahead of me so they could renew their material.

The librarian announced that I wasn't "authorized" to pay that person's account. The person said "no, it's okay, we're family." Then the two of us spent way too long having to convince two librarians that we were cousins. I was going along with it, and they finally took my money, but it occurred to me I might be going to hell for lying to librarians, of all people.

grilled onions

(1,957 posts)
12. Why Do They Care?
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 12:44 AM
Nov 2013

Money is money and a fine cleared up should be the bottom line. Will fingerprints be next to verify if you are blood or not? Makes me yearn of the old days when a fine was 25 cents and no matter who it was they looked down when they paid it. I never knew if it was because they were ashamed or got caught holding a book too long. of course for kids that 25 cents meant the loss of a lot of penny candy and bubblegum!

 

noamnety

(20,234 posts)
29. I was shocked it was an issue.
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:24 AM
Nov 2013

and shocked that the other woman was so ready with the lie, and shocked at myself that I was so quick to fall into it with her, and look the librarians straight in the eye and confirm that yes, we were cousins.

It's not to often I get to feel like a rebel and dangerous at the library, so it was actually one of my favorite library trips ever in the end.

Curmudgeoness

(18,219 posts)
79. Don't worry about hell.
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 08:15 PM
Nov 2013

It isn't a sin to lie when it is for the right cause.

I think that is somewhere in the Bible.

progressoid

(49,824 posts)
46. Ours is computer based as well.
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 10:45 AM
Nov 2013

They still organize and shelve using the Dewey numbering system. The search method just went from cards to digital. YMMV.

In semi-related news, our library just replaced our outside drop box. It's technically not a drop box but a slot outside the library. Push a button and a door opens to a conveyor belt. As you insert books, they are automatically scanned and removed from your account. Kind of cool.

reACTIONary

(5,749 posts)
53. This is the RF ID system...
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 11:57 AM
Nov 2013

... that I described in the OP. It couldn't be done without RF ID, since positioning and orientation and an unobstructed line-of-sight are critical for optical scan but not necessary with the RF ID. I used to go into the library to get a return receipt, but the outside RF ID return system now prints one out for me. Anytime of the day or night!

progressoid

(49,824 posts)
62. The cards were great for discovering books you may not have even been looking for.
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:21 PM
Nov 2013

My niece is a young librarian. She only vaguely remembers the cards from her childhood. {sigh}

Gormy Cuss

(30,884 posts)
11. My local branch is similar to yours -- very heavily used by kids to seniors.
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 12:37 AM
Nov 2013

It has great areas defined for young kids and for teens plus reading nooks for adults, meeting rooms, a job search center, lots of public use PCs, plenty of books and other media for borrowing, lots of public interest programming (gardening, writer events, children's story time, etc.) a used bookstore and a privately run coffee shop accessible directly from the library.

kag

(4,076 posts)
19. I volunteer at my local library...
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 12:55 AM
Nov 2013

and I love it! It's tiny, but it's such a great environment, and I've always loved libraries. The ladies and gents I work with always thank me for the time I spend working with them, but I thank them back for creating such a magical space in my own little town, and letting me be a part of it.

Great post.

Rstrstx

(1,393 posts)
23. No
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:10 AM
Nov 2013

Simply haven't had the need.

With all that's available on the internet I think traditional libraries are going to be rarer and rarer. I still see a demand for specialized libraries (like the 20 some-odd ones at the University of Texas campus or the many in D.C.), those are invaluable if you really need to have access to hard to find or one-of-a-kind items especially for research. It'll be many years before google can scan ALL of the data out there so until then those libraries that happen to have a book of what may be the only copy in the entire country are still going to be needed. Having access to an Interlibrary Loan Service is also fantastic.

 

morningfog

(18,115 posts)
30. The need for libraries is so much more than for books.
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:27 AM
Nov 2013

It's the social aspects that can't be found online.

Rstrstx

(1,393 posts)
37. I'm sure for many, but for me going to the library is like going shopping
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:54 AM
Nov 2013

I generally go when I know exactly what I want, get it and leave (I hate shopping by the way).

But I realize a lot of people love both and treat the library as if they were going from store to store, just instead going from shelf to shelf simply to see what's out there. Both have a social component to them, but neither are my style. Given a free afternoon I'd rather spend it on an unknown road instead of inside but that's just me. You can find gems either way.

reACTIONary

(5,749 posts)
34. I think it could go the other way...
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:44 AM
Nov 2013

... the specialist libraries and publications are much easier to organize on-line, especially where current, as opposed to historical, information is concerned. And low volume technical publications REALY benefit from the cost savings. Its low-hanging fruit.

I work for a research laboratory, and we had a great technical library, but some number of years ago we emptied it out and went digital. We still have a small office space for the "librarians" who help us do research, manage the digital subscriptions, and request the odd physical book that is needed. But basically its all online, and the internet alone is almost serving the purpose.

However, my community library hasn't disappeared. They are still a very valued part of our community.

Stonepounder

(4,033 posts)
35. I certain;y hope not!
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:44 AM
Nov 2013

I'm retired and a voracious reader, as is my wife. Before we retired it wasn't at all uncommon for us to spend an hour browsing at Borders and walk out with $100 in books. Now I head for the library at least a couple of times a week. In five years there has been one book that I couldn't find either at my local branch or via the Inter Library Loan program. We both read in bed at night before going to sleep. It's a way of unwinding. And having library books is WAY better than buying them. When you buy a book for $15 you secretly feel an obligation to finish it. When you check one out from the library and it doesn't suit, you can set it aside and move on to the next one. You can see a reference to a book that sounds like it might be interesting and grab a copy from the library and find out if it really is interesting. We have a library tax and whenever it is up for renewal it always passes handily. Our local library is always busy, kids, families, seniors, etc. It has books, dvd's, music CD's, talking books, and pre-loaded nooks, as well as free wi-fi.

And regardless of how much info is on the internet, it's awfully hard to take your laptop to bed with you so you can read yourself to sleep every night.

Rstrstx

(1,393 posts)
39. Hehe, oh I fall asleep in front of my laptop all the time
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 02:01 AM
Nov 2013

It has the dings to prove it :-P

I do actually rather lament the passing of Borders, bookstores have (or in their case had) numerous new books that regular libraries simply can't keep pace with.

Tree-Hugger

(3,364 posts)
25. Love it!
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:11 AM
Nov 2013

I take my kids regularly. They have a lot of kid's programs - reading circles, song time, Lego club, etc. Ours has a special local genealogy room.

I have a massive book addiction and the library is a good place to get a hit without breaking the bank. I miss card catalogs, too. I have noticed that our library is louder. I still whisper and I feel like the only one who does.

 

Pretzel_Warrior

(8,361 posts)
31. I like technology but am still somewhat of a Luddite in certain respects
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:29 AM
Nov 2013

and I resisted the urge to buy an ebook until this semester for my MBA program...couldn't find the book I needed in time so I bought ebook (or ibook?) from Apple on my iPad.

This is what kids are growing up with so libraries really do need to modernize. I do hope they continue to keep the large format libraries with actual paper books with bindings and old card catalogue pockets from days gone by....

....I love seeing how studious most of the school age kids are that spend time in libraries. Looking forward to my son logging a lot of time in libraries, art galleries, and museums with us.

dem in texas

(2,672 posts)
33. Old Dallas Library in Dallas
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:42 AM
Nov 2013

I grew up in a poor family, but one that loved to read. As soon as we had our 6th birthday, my mother would get us a library card. During the summer, we'd go to the library and each of us would check out the 6 books you were allowed. We'd take them home and read them and return them two weeks later. Mother made sure we read a lot in the summer. All six of us children grew up loving to read. We still read and trade books back and forth now.

We'd go to the old library on Jefferson in Oak Cliff in Dallas. It was a big tall red brick building with white pillars in front. The children's department was in the basement and you had to go around to the side to go down the steps. It had long tables with Indian sand art in them. My sister loved the little Beatrice Potter books and she'd always check those out, just to look at the pictures. The old library was torn down and a smaller one built in its place. I don't live that area any more, but have used other Dallas libraries since then.

When my children were young, we lived near Ralston, Nebraska and I'd take them to the library there. It was a beautiful library and it offered all kinds of activities for the kids.

Libraries are great and it is sad that when a city is having budget problems, the first thing they want to do is cut the library funds.

 

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)
38. This is the best thread ever.
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:57 AM
Nov 2013

I have many, many library stories to add.

When I was in first grade I attended St. Francis de Sales Catholic school in Utica, NY. It was just one building from the WONDERFUL Carnegie Library in that city. As soon as I could read I got a library card, and every couple of weeks or so I'd go to the library after school. I was so little when I was six years old that I could not open the heavy door into the library. I had to wait for some older, taller, stronger person to show up and open the door for me.

When my kids were little and we'd go on long driving trips, I'd sometimes stop in some small town and find the local library and stop for a while. I could pull books off the shelf and read to them. I think that once or twice I stumbled into a reading time.

We lived in more than one city where they library did the best little kid programs ever. Librarians are amazing. They'd come up with a theme, find several books, have a craft to do, or have a guest speaker. I remember one at the Golden, Colorado library that had "Cowboy Bob" who played the banjo. My younger son took his first steps on his own at that library.

What I do love about modern technology is that I can manage my renewals and hold requests on-line. I'm sure most libraries do that these days. How wonderful is that?

I live currently in Santa Fe, NM. One of the first things I did when I moved here five years ago was to get a library card. Early on, I had a book overdue. I sheepishly went up to the desk with it, pulling out my wallet to pay a fine. No fine, I was told. Yep. This library system does not impose fines. If you have a book more than thirty days overdue, you can't check anything new out. I find that under this system I almost never have an overdue book anymore.

I really love public libraries.

When I was young, older adults were very aware of what Andrew Carnegie had done to endow libraries across this great nation of ours. As I noted above, the Utica Public Library is a Carnegie library.

Oh, and my special secret is that I maintain a valid card for the public library system where I lived before I moved here.

llmart

(15,499 posts)
76. I have many, many library stories too!
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 07:01 PM
Nov 2013

I was in public library administration. Boy, could I tell you some "library" stories If the Library Director was not in, I was the person next in line to handle anything and everything that happened in the library. Some of my stories aren't fit to print here where we are singing the praises of public libraries.

But here's one I can share with DU'ers. In our town we had a guy who was a State Senator (Republican). He was always in the local news for some stupid thing he said or did in the Capitol. He'd come into the public library quite often and most people didn't know who he was just by looking at him, but I did because I couldn't stand the idiot. Well, one day I got called to the front desk from my office in the back and was told there was "someone up front who wanted to talk to someone in administration." OK. I went up front, the woman flashed her badge (she was an undercover cop) and told me that they had been monitoring the library's computers and wanted to question the person who was surfing the web for porn and could she use the public meeting room privately to talk with this person. Well, by now you've probably guessed who it was that turned out to be looking at porn on the public computers.

As I said, I could tell you stories


Iwillnevergiveup

(9,298 posts)
41. Long live public libraries!
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 02:15 AM
Nov 2013

I regularly visit 2 and consider both of them havens of sublime satisfaction. One has a childrens' section that is especially toddler friendly, and I so enjoy bringing my 19-month grandson there. He's mostly there for the toys, but we always look at and check out a few books. Occasionally I see kids being home-schooled and/or tutored there. And SO many services and events for adults. An absolutely essential part of our communities and democracy.

defacto7

(13,485 posts)
42. That is a beautiful post!
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 02:21 AM
Nov 2013

It's one of the few really happy story posts. It warmed the cockles of my heart! (did I really say that?)

reACTIONary

(5,749 posts)
50. You ought to check it out...
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 11:51 AM
Nov 2013

... just to explore a little. Like being a tourist and getting some exposure to what the natives are up to.

 

CFLDem

(2,083 posts)
52. Only reason for me to go to a library
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 11:56 AM
Nov 2013

is if I'm too poor to afford my own internet.

I already have majority of human knowledge at my fingertips. No reason to leave the house for it.

Trailrider1951

(3,408 posts)
48. Thanks for the reminder
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 11:15 AM
Nov 2013

I haven't been to a library in a good long while. Things will change next year when I retire from my 8 hour weekdays with their 3 hour commutes. Until then, my Kindle is getting a workout.

 

kestrel91316

(51,666 posts)
51. I avoid our libraries in Los Angeles. The kids
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 11:53 AM
Nov 2013

run around yelling and screaming, and the staff does nothing. It's like a freaking day care center.

reACTIONary

(5,749 posts)
65. I have something of the same reaction...
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:32 PM
Nov 2013

...to some of the "kid activity" at our library. I try to reaming calm and tolerant. The design of the library, giving different usages and usage-styles some separate space, helps. If that can't be done, it can get to be a bit overwhelming.

leftyladyfrommo

(18,815 posts)
54. I go everyday they are open.
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 12:00 PM
Nov 2013

I use the computer here. I'm at the library even as we speak. I also check out almost the books I read - and that's alot. I can't afford to buy all those books.

Libraries are great places.

This one has tons of children's programs - almost every day they have some kind of special show for the kids. They're fun for adults, too. Lots of interesting music programs and puppets and all kinds of stuff.

Sheri

(310 posts)
56. my kids and i love our public library.
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 12:13 PM
Nov 2013

they had to cut their hours, though. budget issues. our priorities are out of whack.

Shrike47

(6,913 posts)
58. We go to the library two or three times a week. Love it.
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 12:23 PM
Nov 2013

Lots of kids on the first two floors and mostly grown ups upstairs, although not entirely. Music to borrow, DVDs, books, electronic resources. Lots of stuff for lots of people.

Of course, they were getting so many teenagers congregating out front, they started playing classical music to keep the crowd down. Works.

progressoid

(49,824 posts)
61. Classical music!
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:15 PM
Nov 2013

That's a great idea!

I might recommend that to our library. We occasionally have issues that require a police officer to be present. This would be a lot easier.

 

Manifestor_of_Light

(21,046 posts)
59. No, because the librarian is a racist
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 12:35 PM
Nov 2013

A man bought an old Methodist church and made it a library. I went in there and the librarian was griping about the fact that there was an Hispanic food aisle in Walmart. She wanted all those people to leave and go back to Mexico. A whole lot of them were born here.



She went on about how much it bothered her. I didn't tell her that the name of this state, before it was Texas, was "Mexico".

She made me sick with her hate, so I left. I thought librarians were supposed to be in favor of education. Not in this shit hole.

I went to a book club meeting and told a woman about that, and she said "But she's not from Texas." I said, "Oh, so it's OK to hate Mexicans and blacks if you're not from Texas?" No answer.
I quit going to the book club too.

There was a black woman in the book club that was a volunteer at the library and she said she quit because she got in arguments all the time with that woman. Sheesh.

I got two free books at the last book sale, in a box out by the curb. They were about uppity women: Margaret Mead-Blackberry Winter my early years, and Here Comes Bella! about Congresswoman Bella Abzug.



Where I grew up they had an excellent library with limit of 6 books if you were a kid. You had to be 12 to go in the adult stacks. I couldn't find enough books thick enough in the kids' section to keep me busy because I was a fast reader. I started reading when I was three.


reACTIONary

(5,749 posts)
63. "Shit hole" certinally does sum up...
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:23 PM
Nov 2013

...the situation you describe. I feel sorry that you have to put up with crap like that. I wish the social environment I enjoy were available to all of our citizens.

 

Manifestor_of_Light

(21,046 posts)
90. Sad that such a bigoted person reigns in a pretty historic building.
Tue Dec 3, 2013, 05:46 PM
Dec 2013

The Methodists sold it to a man who started it as a non profit. Then he died. His mother was the librarian and she died last year. I don't know where the woman running it now came from.

A lot of people here hate everyone who is not like them.
Must be exhausting.

Then there was the woman working at the jr. college who rants about how great it is to be Southern, and in the next sentence wants to join the Daughters of the American Revolution, a/k/a the "Over the Hill Mickey Mouse Gang".

And she uses "damnyankee" as an ACTUAL INSULT!! I thought we had gotten over that with the Civil War. Apparently not.



I got ancestors on each side that fought on opposite sides in the Civil War(Ohio and Mississippi) and I really don't care one way or the other.

justhanginon

(3,287 posts)
64. I remember "bookmobiles".
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:31 PM
Nov 2013

This would have been in the early forties. I went to a what was then a rural school and now is suburbs. They came every two weeks and we always got the limit and then tried to talk the light readers into getting a few extra for us. They were in trailers and hot in summer and cold in winter. As an avid reader I used to so look forward to their visits. I remember it being done as part of whatever class we were in when it came which back then I'm sure was considered a bonus. A small school. My graduating class was a grand total of seven. I still look back on that time fondly.

Liberty Belle

(9,528 posts)
87. I remember bookmobiles too - cozy, a great place for kids to find great books to read.
Sun Dec 1, 2013, 12:05 AM
Dec 2013

I grew up in San Diego's inland areas in the 60s.

polichick

(37,152 posts)
67. I go to the library all the time - ours is filled with homeless people...
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:47 PM
Nov 2013

trying to stay warm in winter and cool in summer - and also a lot of great books, which I'm happy to check out.

 

SCVDem

(5,103 posts)
69. I visited our brand new library a while back.
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 01:59 PM
Nov 2013

I was looking for a book. Imagine that!

Two stories with computers and stations but go figure.......

The place has next to no books. B & N has a better selection.

For the record I was looking for a Chiltons or Motor Manual to repair my car and on-line it's not free, so off to the library.

All the money was spent on aesthetics, Carpets, fine furniture and a fireplace.

Which IMO are better utilized with a book and not a laptop or pad.

I'm surprised they didn't have cocktail service.

I'm getting old.

Common Sense Party

(14,139 posts)
70. I'm on our library board, and we're always approving new, cool technologies and programs.
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 02:04 PM
Nov 2013

Even in deep red, Republican Utah.

Callalily

(14,885 posts)
71. We have a fabulous library
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 02:22 PM
Nov 2013

that strives to serve the public - and I mean EVERYONE!

I am a proud supporter of our library.

lovelyrita

(241 posts)
72. I go to the library about once a month.
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 05:03 PM
Nov 2013

My local library built a new building and city hall with stimulus money. One of our DEC offices for 2012 was a block away and I made sure to let everyone know they could thank the Democrats for the funding to build those beautiful new buildings.

I went to college in Baltimore and lived within walking distance of the Enoch Pratt Free library. So beautiful! It was one of my favorite places in the city.

Response to reACTIONary (Original post)

rury

(1,021 posts)
77. Jorge Luis Borges summed up my sentiment about libraries
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 07:12 PM
Nov 2013

nicely when he said, "I have always imagined that Paradise would be a kind of library."



johnnyreb

(915 posts)
80. Redstate capital Columbia South Carolina just approved taxes for library expansions.
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 08:35 PM
Nov 2013
Richland County voters approve $59 million for library additions
November 5, 2013
http://www.thestate.com/2013/11/05/3080428/richland-county-voters-approve.html

You see?! The alliance is strong.

LeftishBrit

(41,190 posts)
83. Yes! I love libraries.
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 09:25 PM
Nov 2013

Much as I like and depend on the Internet, it will never fully substitute for a real library, as far as I'm concerned.

 

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)
84. I just want to add that I grew up going to the library
Sat Nov 30, 2013, 10:18 PM
Nov 2013

very regularly.

At some point, as an adult, I got to where I could afford to buy the books I wanted to read. That was nice. Then, a few years ago I got divorced and my financial situation changed, so I resumed going to the library. I almost never buy books anymore, which makes me feel a little guilty because I know that books I want to read won't get published if no one buys them.

Anyway, what I really loved about rediscovering the library was how different the mix of books is. Every so often I do buy a book, but I'm a lot pickier about what I'll spend money on. It has to be a book I want to keep or it needs to be something I REALLY want to read that my library doesn't have.

Books are wonderful.

Liberty Belle

(9,528 posts)
86. San Diego's county libraries now have a concert series ; city has new glass-domed library
Sun Dec 1, 2013, 12:02 AM
Dec 2013

They've found some creative ways to get people back into libraries again!

http://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/news-events/concertseries.shtml
http://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/news-events/index.shtml


There is also the dramatic new central library that the city of San Diego just built: http://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/about-the-library/projects/newcentral.shtml#overview You can take a virtual video tour here: http://m.utsandiego.com/video/play/61094/

Much more on the webpage not shown in the video. It even includes a concert hall, amazing! There are also lots of author visits, kids' activities, high-tech stuff and spectacular views of San Diego harbor from balconies and a glass walled library with dome on top - it's a spectacular signature work of architecture.




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