# Libraries



## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Are libraries dead? Do you use one? Do you get books or video or other media?

I go to the library but it's only to pick up books I've previously reserved on line. I don't browse anymore.

I do not own a tablet but I'm considering buying one mainly because our daily newspaper delivery does not get here soon enough for me to read before I go to work.


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## mirepoix (Feb 1, 2014)

I still use my local library although nowhere near as much as before. Mostly for books.
Even today I believe it still has an important (and ever-evolving) role to play, particularly in a community. And no matter how ubiquitous the Internet has become there will always be those who require a library to access it.


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## Cosmos (Jun 28, 2013)

I always go to my library. And I'm always browsing for books. And that's where I get a good chunck of my music collection


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

My wife and I use the local library quite often for audio books.


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

I own a library.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Wow, I just realized that I haven't been to a library in a long time. I guess I haven't missed it. Although if I had the time, I would hang out at the Vanderbilt University libraries.


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

I always go to the library, but since I have one of my own that I am committed to(a nice book shelf at home), I usually don't check anything out. I just go there to read or chill for a bit.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

I love libraries & have always been a great user of them - until two years ago, when I returned to the violin. Now between music and the internet, I can't seem to settle to read, so I browse my own shelves & reread things, because otherwise I'd just keep getting fined. I have had other periods like this in my life, though, so I think I will get back to reading & using libraries.

Taggart is still a great user of them & will probably do his own post. I'd just like to recall an incident from the 1980s, though, when my sister worked in our local public library. One of the other assistants called her one day and said, 'You see *that man* over there? He comes in every few days and gets out about ten books at a time. Why does he do that? He can't possibly read them all. He's just faking it!' To which my sister replied, *'That man* is my brother-in-law, & I can assure you, he does read them all!' 
Yes, Taggart is *a book-reading machine*!


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

I use a library regularly for mainly fiction. I can't see the point in buying books which use up space, will be read once or twice and are basically ephemeral.

it's also fun to see what's there and pick up something you wouldn't have otherwise considered.


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## Gilberto (Sep 12, 2013)

No, libraries are not dead. I always have made regular visits and now that I've down-sized my life, it is my main source for reading material. I go every Saturday morning and head straight to the "new" shelf; after that I search whatever topic I'm wanting at the moment (today will be something about herbs and spices).

My local library is very good about the inter-library loan and I can find almost any book that way that I want to read. I also check out music CDs on occasion. Borrowing DVDs was a weekly thing too until I was gifted a subscription to Netflix.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I still like the idea of using my local library but its no longer a place to go if you want peace and quiet - for some reason it incongruously shares its open-plan premises with a Housing Association helpdesk/Council Tax payment counter (with its usual slow-moving queue) and there is also a rugrat section which is little more than a glorified creche judging by the off-putting decibel level.


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## Gilberto (Sep 12, 2013)

One thing I've noticed about going to libraries. There is always some bearded guy in the periodical and newspaper area at a table reading newspapers. Go in the morning and he is there. Go in the afternoon and he is there. Go in the evening and he is there. The same bearded dude reading newspapers. 

Does every library have one of these guys? I have frequented 3 different libraries in my life and there is always "that guy". I guess it is better than spending 12 hours every day at the pub.


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## Svelte Silhouette (Nov 7, 2013)

When those of us over 45-50 now are gone the "library" as we know it will likely also disappear imo.

My children last visited a local library the best part of 10 years ago as their 'phones, tablets and laptops along with Wiki have replaced it for them. I can't remember the last time I visited my local library but it was probably 9 months or so ago.

I'd guess I own more than a thousand books and by comparison my children only own several even though educated to a similar level. By the time I was as old as my eldest child I already owned several hundred books and I'd buy an LP and a book pretty much every week back then. As a teenager I'd listen to my LP and read my book over the weekend then go to the library after school on Monday and borrow a few more books to "see me through the week" until the following Saturday's "selection and purchasing".

I love London's "The British Library" and sorely regret what Liverpool did to "The Picton Library" recently when H&S issues led the council to internally destroy a piece of history.

I blame the internet, 24/7 TV across hundreds of channels, PC-gaming and parents. When I was a child I played out with real friends in the real world and if it rained I played out until too wet then came to dry off in and played board games. If I had no-one to play with then I'd read a book and/or listen to some music as there was little day-time TV and no internet to distract. I'd get 3 or 4 books at a time from the library after an enjoyable selection process and all would be read inside a week along with my bought one(s).

Apologies if that sounds like a "middle-aged" rant as I guess it is. The sad thing is I quite like the internet.


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## Gilberto (Sep 12, 2013)

The people who read everything on the internet, tablets and e-reader gizmos may want to beware that one day the power might go down for longer than they want. And end up feeling like this guy ....it's not fair!


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Gilberto said:


> One thing I've noticed about going to libraries. There is always some bearded guy in the periodical and newspaper area at a table reading newspapers. Go in the morning and he is there. Go in the afternoon and he is there. Go in the evening and he is there. The same bearded dude reading newspapers.
> 
> Does every library have one of these guys? I have frequented 3 different libraries in my life and there is always "that guy". I guess it is better than spending 12 hours every day at the pub.


I think they have them in the furniture catalogue for libraries. I believe they even do a Foggy, Compo and Clegg special edition set as well.


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## Svelte Silhouette (Nov 7, 2013)

*How to make a library safe virtually no-one had "realised" was "so unsafe"*

1. Avoid allowing anyone up dangerous spiral staircases as they're even more dangerous coming down
2. Remove all books from upper areas with "dangerously" low railings anyone could fall over but never did
3. Make it bright and instantly attractive like an LED TV
4. Remove all remaining "out of date" books and make it "child friendly" sprinkling a few new books round

I loved visiting what is pictured above as there was a kind of history but when I returned a year or so ago the final picture below showed how destructive H&S "gone mad" can be and, yes, these are all pictures of the same space in Liverpool, just "shifted in time", with what is shown below being the sanitised "book free" decade ahead of the "refurb" which finished a little over a year ago. At least they still have some books whilst PCs are sited on a "now safe" upper area so you can access other stuff electronically even though you can't actually touch and smell it.


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

I almost always have a book or two from my local library. I belong to two libraries here, three if you include my old university library which I use once a year. I borrow books, DVDs and CDs.

The school at which I teach has plenty of computers. When a class goes to the library to do some research the first place the students go is to the computers. I've noticed that the miles of books at the university library are deserted, while the computers are busy, and students at desks with their own laptops.
The Vancouver library modelled after the Roman Coliseum. 
View attachment 36218


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## mirepoix (Feb 1, 2014)

Damn, every time I read the latest posts in this thread I end up with the Meredith(?) Wilson tune about Marion the librarian from 'The Music Man' running through my head. 
And at the risk of going off-topic, a rhetorical question; if any actor was born to play a role, wasn't it Robert Preston as Harold Hill?


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## Ravndal (Jun 8, 2012)

I use the university library for a lot of things. Sheet music, fiction, biography, music dvd's, operas etc.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Music Libraries will never die out. I visit my music library to get music and rare music books several times a semester. They are things that one could get off the internet, but would have to pay or require a lot of printing.


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## Chris (Jun 1, 2010)

Haut Parleur said:


> View attachment 36210
> View attachment 36211
> 
> 
> ...


My feelings precisely. I moved to Liverpool in 1979 and spent many hours in the original library with its massive collection of books. I went back a few months ago to look at the rebuilt library and it was heartbreaking to see the butchery that had been perpetrated. Only a fraction of the original books are still there. What upset me almost as much was the infantilisation. All over the walls words like READ and STUDY have been put up, in huge brightly coloured plastic letters. I didn't see one saying BREATHE but I might have missed it.


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## Levanda (Feb 3, 2014)

I learned English visiting library. I borrowing operas on DVD as well I do foreign films is good section. Every week I visiting library but because is public sector cuts I can see less staff. Something is missing now in libraries.


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

Are libraries dead? 
Not yet but I think they are in terminal decline in all but the largest towns or cities. If you come to the small town where I live you can enjoy borrowing dirty books in a noisy environment and it ain't great.
It can't be long till all this moves on line with the advent of tablets and eReaders etc and sorry to say it can't come to soon for me.
Books are great and buying records used to be fun, but just what would you have given years ago to have the access to forums like this and You Tube with gems at your finger tips for free?
Come on folks we have never had it so good and it ain't due to libraries


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## hreichgott (Dec 31, 2012)

You can't do much more than surface level research using only the internet. Even with ebooks, it's mostly the trade paperbacks etc. that are available in ebook form. Most useful books I need are not. I can't afford to buy them all, so it's off to the library.


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## Svelte Silhouette (Nov 7, 2013)

Haydn man said:


> Are libraries dead?
> Not yet but I think they are in terminal decline in all but the largest towns or cities. If you come to the small town where I live you can enjoy borrowing dirty books in a noisy environment and it ain't great.
> It can't be long till all this moves on line with the advent of tablets and eReaders etc and sorry to say it can't come to soon for me.
> Books are great and buying records used to be fun, but just what would you have given years ago to have the access to forums like this and You Tube with gems at your finger tips for free?
> Come on folks we have never had it so good and it ain't due to libraries


Both can co-exist, You can't touch or smell the pages on a tablet. You can't feel the history or the love caused by that 'dirt'. Bring back silence in the library, not to mention books, and ditch those 'approach and use PCs' since most of us have PCs or Smartphones or Smart TVs if not several of all 3 in our households ...

I still play records, and occasionally various tape formats, though mainly play CDS these days (BUT not by a huge margin albeit an increasing one). I am not a Luddite having been involved in both Hi-Fi retail and software development throughout my working years. I appreciate the benefits of servers and 'easy access' along with the 'randomizing' some like and the 24/7 'wall of sound' others do BUT prefer to have the ability to do this if I want or to just sit down and play a single piece of black plastic I have to get up and turn over after 20 minutes. In the same way I like the ability to search Wiki or browse whatever from home BUT prefer to have the ability to do this if I want or to just saunter over to my local library, or better still a decent central one, and turn some 'real world' pages. Besides, it's nice and warm in the library and I can read whilst 'ambient music iPhone listenning' if I want.


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## cwarchc (Apr 28, 2012)

I'm very lucky to live near, and have worked within walking distance of 2 fantastic libraries
The John Ryland and Manchester Central Library
They are alive and kicking
The John Ryland is one of the most beautiful building in a mock gothic style, it also has a fantastic collection of ancient manuscripts
Libraries are alive 
Make sure we keep them that way


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

Twice a week I order five or six books from my local area's interlibrary borrowing website, along with two or three CDs and two or three DVDs.

Currently, I'm working my way through twentieth century illustrated books (I'm on the year 1960 right now); AMG's and Penguin's recommended recordings (only on Adams & Albeniz - long way to go here); and Videohound's DVDs from 2.5 bones and up that catch my fancy (next up - The African Queen).

The library is essential to me, and I do my part to help keep them in business through both traffic and monetary contributions.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

cwarchc said:


> I'm very lucky to live near, and have worked within walking distance of 2 fantastic libraries
> The John Ryland and Manchester Central Library
> They are alive and kicking
> The John Ryland is one of the most beautiful building in a mock gothic style, it also has a fantastic collection of ancient manuscripts
> ...


I have used both those libraries for research purposes in the 1970s. Glad to hear they still live!


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## cwarchc (Apr 28, 2012)

Ingélou said:


> I have used both those libraries for research purposes in the 1970s. Glad to hear they still live!


The central library re-opens this year after a multi million makeover (they had to get rid of the asbestos)
I can't wait


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## Listener (Sep 20, 2010)

I use the library frequently, though rarely to browse. Interlibrary loan, and items that I request the library purchase is the primary reason that I use it.

If I had a lot of money to spend on books I would probably rarely use it.


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

Libraries are here to stay, or at least they should. I volunteer one day a week at my local library, mostly behind the scenes as a pricer/repairer for the annual booksale, but also helping out people trying to find books if necessary. Libraries are civic institutions that perform a wonderful function for people struggling economicaly. The queues for the computer room alone testify to the fact that not all of the public can afford internet access, not to mention luxuries like an IPad or even a six year old laptop. In the years that I've volunteered I've seen the need for library services grow, whilst the money available seems to shrink. If public libraries vanish from the earth I fear that literacy among the most needy of society will plummet still further.


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## Jos (Oct 14, 2013)

My morning jacket; Librarian. Enjoy

Cheers,
Jos


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