![generic-library[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/z5QWOdf.jpg "generic-library[1].jpg")
Are they a waste of taxpayer money?
Or a necessary social program?
Complete waste with the advent of the internet, specifically e-books and online book stores. Ironically, the people who can afford books are the ones who use the library, and the people who won't bother getting a job to afford books don't bother with them anyways.
Not everyone has ereaders and reading from a computer isn't comfy at all. I get books for free via the library and it's just nice to be able to get ideas based on books next to ones you're looking at.
Besides, most libraries nowadays double as a community center and host local group meetings, holiday events, book signings, voting, or any number of local functions.
>>78670112
Good point. A lot of the good I see them having today is that people without computers can use the library ones to apply for jobs, take online classes, etc.
Maybe it's time to phase out book libraries and move toward public internet cafe's.
>>78669864
Waste, that is rightful corporate bailout bux.
I will gladly pay 3 pennies a year or whatever it is for libraries. Not only are they historically essential to the maintenance of human learning, but I have made extensive use of them myself.
And let's take out the federal funding that mandates things like picture IDs for taking out a fucking library book, while we're at it.
>>78670348
this
where else am i going to print documents for cheap?
where alese can i find old local historical records?
where else can i chill and read a book without the pressure of having to buy it?
where else can my city hold a zine expo?
plus, libraries dont even cost that much to operate, considering how much they make off late fees
>>78670348
another big one: free wifi
i was staying at a motel for a few days with shit internet, so i just hung out at the town library for most of the day. also some people really are too broke to afford a computer/phone. there's a reason the homeless flock to libraries, they are comfy
Still relevant. It's a great destination to take your kids to get out books from and gets them away from screens for a while.
The homeless need somewhere to jerk off.
>>78671637
Kids love books. You can touch them and feel them and look at them and turn the pages whichever way you like. And the ones at home are right there on the shelf to go pick around any time you want.
I keep a spare book in my backpack. I keep a spare book in my car. I bring another spare book any time I travel. It feels fine to sit down in or under a tree and crack one open just to enjoy being away from everything. And when the EMP happens, the books will still be there.
Books were a hot commodity for entertainment during Argentina's first 3:1 currency devaluation.
>>78669864
Libraries are great for anyone who isn't an illiterate weeb. Yeah they suck when homeless and niggers infest them but as long as you're in a white neighborhood it's pretty much the best public space.
>>78672132
>EMP
I hope someone has a paper copy of wikipedia somewhere
As a librarian, generally useless I'd say, though it depends on the country.
They are generally only used by a certain segment of the population but for those people it tends to be a good service to have.
>>78669864
they're a waste, but they're one of the cheapest wastes in existence, which is why nobody is trying to do anything about it.
all a library is, is a lot of space, a bit of climate control, and a level of security that an unarmed old lady can provide all by herself.
libraries should just be attached to datacenters. they could literally do everything a library does as a free add-on to their existing business operations.
>>78674349
Ha, funny joke... I get it
You're pretending to be stupid as a joke right
Because what you described is literally an encyclopaedia
>>78669864
>2016
>still no virtual public libraries
>>78674349
My old library had a special little room just to keep an entire edition of the OED. They let me go in any time I wanted just to look up words.
As long as they don't burn down, I'm pretty sure encyclopedias will still be around. Wikipedia is so ridiculous I'm pretty sure there's no way to save a copy other than hardened datacenters or the new so-called 5D memory devices.
>>78674644
not exactly. encyclopedias have a review board and editors who approve the contents before publication.
wikipedia has real-time (((curation))).
>>78670671
i thought nobody ever paid any library late fees and they just sold the debt for pennies on the dollar
>>78674633
I have no idea why being a librarian at some bumblefuck small town requires a masters degree.
If you are taking care of old as fuck documents at UCLA I can understand needing a masters but IDK why the cat lady running a mommy and toddler reading session needs an advanced degree
>>78669864
They're not a significant expense as far as I'm aware, and for a lot of people they provide a place where "shut that stupid kid up" and "get off your fucking phone" are enforceable rules.
>>78669864
A necessary safe zone in times of emergency.
Fun fact: during Katrina hardly any libraries were broken into. I have no idea why.
>>78669864
It's a waste. I mean I love the library and borrow books constantly, but I feel that if they can't survive on their own they're pointless. I think a small fee for borrowing books would at least lower the taxpayer costs of running them.
>>78669864
Books are kryptonite to niggers so libraries are basically anti-nigger defence zones. Support your public libraries, son.
>>78674645
We have them in white countries
>>78674949
Blame ALA.
A single librarian running a whole small town library does have a lot to do though so it's not that unexpected. The lack of no library specific bachelor degree in the US is also kind of to blame.
>>78669864
yes! tear them all down and put up a burger king or superchurch
Do people read in America?
>>78674644
As comprehensive as wikipedia? That's far larger than your average encyclopaedia, even the Britannica ones.
>>78674949
I'll take artificial barriers of entry for 400, Alex.
>>78675251
Yeah, but only in Spanish.
>>78675216
>tfw drive past a superchurch on the way to visit parents
That thing is the size of like four Home Depots put together, complete with a cross probably about half the size of a space shuttle, and a huge blinking electric sign to hand out verses on praising Jesus and when to come on down.
I almost want to go there once just to see what it's like.
>>78670112
This. Might as well just put a hundred computers with access to all the books on them. Libraries will always be used by two kinds of people: serious students who want a place to study and research, and homeless degenerates who need a place to jack off and a shower in the public restroom.
>>78675446
sounds trippy
>>78675298
I subcontracted with an engineer once who had helped refine the hardware needed to suck books into computers on a typical government shoestring budget.
It honestly would not be difficult to buy up an old library or just build a whole new one and print out a copy of wikipedia if somebody really wanted to do it. You'd need to hire some smart people to get it done, especially to come up with a good scheme for indexing it all, but all it would take would be a relatively minor amount of money and the will to make it happen.
I'd say that our public library system is the best use of my tax monies. Fuck roads, healthcare etc.
>>78670112
Good goy, you should only read what your masters at Google deem relevant.
Necessary.
>Not reading
Reading = knowledge = power.
If you are not reading proper materials, you are not gaining the necessary knowledge.
>>78669864
Necessary social program that isn't kept up as much as it should be. They often don't have many/ a wide variety of books.
>>78669864
Nothing beats reading from an actual book. Libraries are absolutely necessary.
>>78670348
>besides, most libraries nowadays double as a community center
this. fuck off cuckretarians
>>78672360
>Yeah they suck when homeless and niggers infest them
the people that need them the most?
>>78677455
>visit parents
>forget to bring a book
>work the computer card catalog for a bit
>oh, "The Grand Chessboard" by Zbigniew Brezinski?
>check the fuck out of that little bastard
Excellent read.
