so i can't go to the library anymore.

[Jrecee]

I have never actually been to detroit. . . I also have no interest in going there. Check out this video though. . . It's from the 60s when Detroit made an attempt to get the olympic games. Sad to see how far it's strayed from its "city of tomorrow" goals.

[Inazuma]

Libraries? What are those? Oh wait, I remember now. That's the place I had to go for school projects back when I was a kid. It's too bad they are shutting them down. I mean, what are today's school children going to use for their homework? It sure would be nice if they could get that same information in their own homes, like over a phone or cable line. Even better, it would be great if the home version was vastly superior to the library, making it totally worthless in comparison. Then the school kids wouldn't mind losing it. How unfair for the city to remove all traces of information like that. Now there is no way to learn anything.

Next thing you know they will stop selling VHS tapes at the store, making it totally impossible to watch any movies.

I wish I could simply hate people to death right now...

My point is that things change and new technologies make old ones obsolete. If it makes you angry or not, the fact is that libraries aren't nearly as relevant today as they were 15+ years ago. Not only is the internet a much better source for information, but it's worldwide and growing.

Books themselves are starting to go through some big changes too. Are you aware of the increasing popularity of audio books and digitally downloaded books? There have even been some new devices made with the purpose of reading downloaded books on. The newspaper and magazine industries are dying as well. We will eventually reach a time where everything comes out in digital form on the internet. And for those physical books left behind, they will be scanned and uploaded to the internet too.

The libraries will get shut down, but they will live on inside the internet. The spread of information is always improving. Whether this upsets you or not, that's where we are heading.

[Funk, E]

The issue isn't that libraries themselves are obsolete--they definitely have a place. Libraries aren't just books and card catalogs--they're providers of a community center, classes, trainings for adults and children (my local library offers foreign-language lunches, training for older folks to use computers and the Internet, gaming clubs, book clubs, lots of other stuff) as well as ways for people of limited means to get ONTO the Internet with free computer access.

[nickfil]

The libraries will get shut down, but they will live on inside the internet. The spread of information is always improving. Whether this upsets you or not, that's where we are heading.

I'm not going to really get into it that much because clearly you are stubborn in your point. But just real quick- libraries provide more than a couple of books. They provide a community service to underprivileged kids and adults. Not everyone has an internet connection let alone a computer.

Plus there is the world of academia where if you want to learn about anything in depth, wikipedia isn't really going to cut it.

Also there is an impermanence and lack of fact checking on the internet that isn't to be wholly trusted. When something goes to print it jumps through a few hoops and other independent people fact check it. And if it is false and hits print, it goes through a second printing with corrections. On the internet I can make a detailed website to say that George Washington's favorite sport was cricket so he hated fighting with the British. Who knows how long my site is going to be up. And if it is convincing how quickly it'll spread to wikipedia and everything else.

Just because you don't use the library, doesn't mean no one does. Furthermore to take the absolute stance of this is better than that in anything is pretty narrow minded.

[Inazuma]

The libraries will get shut down, but they will live on inside the internet. The spread of information is always improving. Whether this upsets you or not, that's where we are heading.

I'm not going to really get into it that much because clearly you are stubborn in your point. But just real quick- libraries provide more than a couple of books. They provide a community service to underprivileged kids and adults. Not everyone has an internet connection let alone a computer.

Plus there is the world of academia where if you want to learn about anything in depth, wikipedia isn't really going to cut it.

Also there is an impermanence and lack of fact checking on the internet that isn't to be wholly trusted. When something goes to print it jumps through a few hoops and other independent people fact check it. And if it is false and hits print, it goes through a second printing with corrections. On the internet I can make a detailed website to say that George Washington's favorite sport was cricket so he hated fighting with the British. Who knows how long my site is going to be up. And if it is convincing how quickly it'll spread to wikipedia and everything else.

Just because you don't use the library, doesn't mean no one does. Furthermore to take the absolute stance of this is better than that in anything is pretty narrow minded.

So if someone were to scan one of those fact checked books and put it on the internet, would it still be library quality? What if we had a government approved website that contained scans of all the books that used to be in libraries? That way, you could still have them verified and fact checked. You can call me narrow minded but I am actually rather open minded.

Also, if many people went to the libraries, why is the city shutting them down?

[nickfil]

So if someone were to scan one of those fact checked books and put it on the internet, would it still be library quality? What if we had a government approved website that contained scans of all the books that used to be in libraries? That way, you could still have them verified and fact checked. You can call me narrow minded but I am actually rather open minded.

Also, if many people went to the libraries, why is the city shutting them down?

The problem with scanning books is that the scope of the project vs how much funding and how many resources organizations have pale in comparison. Currently you have only a very small percent of books scanned. If you extrapolate the amount of work vs how quickly it is getting done you wouldn't have everything scanned for hundreds of years, and that is just the older stuff. Not the newer stuff coming out while people are scanning. I really applaud these projects as they freely and easily distribute information but there is no way we are going to see things like this take off in our lifetime. The project is just too huge. Plus there are many books that are in pressure/temperature controlled rooms that are actually breaking down and wouldn't hold up to a scan.

The city isn't deciding to shut down the librarys because they think the internet is awesome. They are shutting them down as an act of desperation due to a shitty budget. People are losing jobs. Communities are losing places to hold activities/lectures/fundrasiers. For many it is the only time they can get on the internet. In a city that loves historical value, they are shutting down the first free library in the united states that Ben Franklin funded 278 years eariler.

however, i think you care more about being called close minded than actually debating the topic. I've never really seen eye to eye on your posts Inazuma and i've always held back on saying something. Arguing on the internet is really silly. I could never tell if you were trolling or this is just how you are. Furthermore, the only person i think i'm talking to is you. I think everyone else on the board knows why there are libraries. This is the last time i'm ever going to respond or debate with you because quite frankly this isn't something that people can jump in on and talk about and is part of the reason we are having discussions about the declining quality of the forum.

also i would really love it if we could lock this topic.

[SpaceBooger]

Also, if many people went to the libraries, why is the city shutting them down?

Money.
Same reason education funding gets cut when times are rough. The people who make such decisions dont see the world the same as those who will be affected by the decision.

Inazuma you apparently have no need for the library, but many of my students do not have the internet so they use the net at the library. Adults are the same, I know a family where the parents work in a factory and every Saturday they take a trip to the library. The parents get on the internet to pay bills and email friends. The kids play educational games on the computers, play board games, and look at lots of books. The library is more than just books to them for research... because the only reference material they have at their house is a set of Encyclopedia Britanica from 1972.

My mother learned how to use Wordperfect back in the day for free at the library and left her job as a grocery store cashier to being a secretary for an insurance company. I go to my local library to check out comics and graphic novels... I cant get those legally on the internet, and if I get them illegally I cant read them while on the toilet or beside my wife on the couch.

Libraries have more to offer than just a place to research. They offer books... real books... not digitally distributed material.

[Funk, E]

Besides, libraries are places for the free exchange of all kinds of information, and that is always a Good Thing.

[Inazuma]

So the internet hasn't caused a big decrease in the amount of people visiting the library? In that case, they shouldn't shut them down.

[SpaceBooger]

So the internet hasn't caused a big decrease in the amount of people visiting the library? In that case, they shouldn't shut them down.

Honestly, I think the internet made libraries rethink what they do other than books.
I remember my local library used to check out Atari 2600 and NES games.