public libraries

[shreena]

I listened to an interesting little piece on Radio 4 this morning about the purpose of public libraries. It's available on Listen Again here if anyone is interested

Comments

[lisekit]

I think libraries still play a crucial role in young people's learning and development - if you head to any public library at just-after-school o'clock, you'll often find lots of children in there exchanging books and getting their reading fix.

They still provide a good way to get youngsters interested in reading and fuel the fire, especially when books are so pigging expensive. I know this summer's "Space Hop" national reading event was popular among young people of my acquaintance

[anonymous]

Hear hear.

S.

[helixaspersa]

Like you I am a determined and very regular (close to weekly) public library-user, and like you I wonder whether they are really the best use of resources as they stand, much as I love them

[biascut]

I'd be very interested to see an audit of local libraries' community cohesion activities. Manchester library has a big section devoted to local history and records, which is very accessible and (as far as I know) well-used, and then my ex's brother is a librarian down in London, and he seemed to be moving over into doing lots of community arts stuff and festivals and things (that was about ten years ago: I don't know what he'd be doing now, or if he kept going in that direction.) And my best friend has been very involved in an lesbian bookclub which was based in their local library. Manchester library also housed a (completely brilliant) theatre until it moved into a new building recently. My ex also used to drive a mobile library which was a real life-line and source of communication for elderly and infirm people in not-particularly-well-serviced areas

[khalinche]

I'd say that when I use my local library it tends to be as much for information as entertainment: I borrow a lot of non-fiction books that I wouldn't want to buy or don't have the money to, and they're mostly cookbooks or gardening books or how-to. There's a lot of 'entertainment' books - crime thrillers and romances - definitely, but there's also a lot of stuff on local history, different London communities, accessible books on ethnicity and class, that kind of thing. Speaking personally, it's been a good resource for learning about taxes and basic coding, as well as a source of novels