Why Libraries Need Saving And Are Not Outdated

[SpiderManFan2002]

This is a follow up MyTake from my previous MyTake:

Save Our Libraries <3></3>

Many people believe that we have no need for libraries anymore because "they're outdated" they have "access to the contents of any library from an Ipad" and "the internet is the largest library to have ever existed."

Just a few quotes from people who responded to that MyTake.

And I have the more or less the same response to those people and anybody who believes that we have no need for libraries anymore, so why not just write a MyTake about it?

1) Digitalise EVERYTHING

As a Computer Science student, I agree with people when they say "the internet is the largest library." It's true. I have used to internet to help me in my studies, as well as the physical library.

I have been studying Computer Science, ever since I was 10-years-old. When my dad introduced me to 'Scratch' as a 10-year-old and I made my first snake game on there- I've progressed in Computer Science ever since. I used both books and the internet to learn Python. I am learning Visual Basic via the internet.

But just because we can learn things via the internet does not mean we don't need books.

Technology changes so fast, you don't know what is going to happen. We could completely scrap paper books, and digitalise everything- but how do we know some hacker won't preform some kind of attack- then what are we going to do? It isn't safe to digitalise everything at this point, we are nowhere near secure enough to digitalise everything. How do you know a huge power outage won't occur, then what will we do? A number of things could happen, so while it is good to digitalise books, paper books still hold value.

Secondly, when reading a long book digitally, the large amount of screen time is not good for our eyesight. And I'm saying that from experience. When I was about 10 or 11-years-old, I read 3 300-500 page books when learning HTML, CSS, and Javascript. And by the time I'd finished the last book, whenever I tried to read anything else, the words seemed blurry. Turns out, I needed glasses. It was only temporary though, for about a year, but it still damaged my eyesight for a short time period.

The benefits of the digital book was, it was free for me and easy to access.

The drawback was it damaged my eye sight for a year.

Now because I wanted the books for free, I could have easily walked up to the library and requested those books.

And plus, when I've read information online, I like to read it in a book too, just to be told the information in a different way- it's like another way my brain absorbs the information. That's me personally though it might not be the same for everyone

And don't get me wrong I'm not saying don't digitalise books, of course we should do that. Digitalised books have their perks, like one person on my previous MyTake mentioned to me that E-books have dyslexic fonts - which I didn't know was thing - but I can imagine that's pretty cool and helpful. I think we should digitalise books and keep the physical ones. Physical books have value too.

2) The Internet

As I said previously. The internet is the biggest library to exist, and people talk about how they don't need libraries because they have access to the internet.

But that makes me raise the question: "What about the people who don't have access to the internet?"

For example, in college the other day, I met a kid who said he didn't have internet at his house, and a lot of our college homework is done online, so he usually stays back at college to do his homework. But what if for some reason he couldn't stay back at college? What if he wants to do homework or access the online resources in the holidays or on a weekend? Then he could go to the city library any library for that matter, because where we live, libraries have free Wi-Fi.

For the first few weeks of summer I did not have an internet connection at home, so when I wanted to use the internet I went to my local library, and I was able to use the Wi-Fi for free. If we didn't have the library, I probably would have to catch the bus to the next nearest place, McDonalds and they're not going to let me sit there for free, I would have probably had to buy a milkshake for something and even then after about an hour they probably would have kicked me out. But in the library I sat for about 3 hours, using the Wi-Fi free of charge.

So libraries also give internet to people who cannot access it at home.

3) The Parents and Young Children

During the summer, when I visited the library what I always saw without fail are parents and their kids.

Kids would often run around, and pick up different books to read and I think Mondays held some kind of toddler club because there were always toddlers sat on the floor singing.

But the kids at the library always seemed so happy there. I even saw some begging their parents for: "just 5 more minutes." That reminded me of my younger self, when I used to go to the after school club for 5-11-year-olds, when I was little. And that still runs by the way, so if it's running kids must be going.

Not all parents can afford to take their kids on trips to theme parks and places like that. The library a free, safe environment where kids can enjoy themselves and it's something which is affordable to everybody.

I saw one mother, teaching her little daughter how to read at the library and I remember when they were going the mother said to the little girl: "We'll borrow this book, and come back next week and you can read another." And you might be thinking:

"Why can't she just buy the books?" "Why can't she teach her at home?"

Well, we don't know people's situations. Just because you can or would do something, it doesn't mean other people can or would. Just because you can afford something, it doesn't mean other people can. Just because you don't need something, doesn't mean other people will.

4) The Elderly

Elderly members of the public visit the library a lot. I often see the same elderly people there whenever I go, like if I was to go on a morning, there's a big chance I'd see this elderly man sat in the same spot reading yet another newspaper.

I feel like this is the least we owe to our elderly. They've worked and contributed to our society in more ways than one, so the least we can do is allow them to have somewhere in which they can sit, have a chat, read a book which is safe and costs nothing.

I remember meeting one elderly woman, not at the library but on the way home from school last year, and she told me that she prefers books and would rather keep away from the internet. And if that's what she wants to do then I don't see why she shouldn't do it. She told me that my generation are born into it, so we're bound to use it and need it but she's grown up without it so she feels she doesn't need or want the internet. Which is fair enough. So why shouldn't the library be open for elderly members of the public like her?

And I know they'll be some elderly people who do want to learn about the internet and technology. And the library caters for them too, because it has free classes on the basics of things like the internet, and how to use a computer and how to stay safe online. So it can educate our elderly too.

So we should also have our libraries for the elderly.

5) Students

Students are the future of the country. And as I said previously yes we have internet, but there are definitely students who are not as fortunate as us, and they don't have access to internet at home.

I am lucky, my dad is an expert bargain hunter and he managed to find me a really good desk, at an affordable price so I have a decent workspace, not a workspace on my bed. But there are some students out there who won't have a desk at home or a decent place to study. They might live in a really small house, or have lots of little brothers and sisters who distract them- or both.

The library should be open for people like them so they can study there, again, free of charge.

Last year, when we had exams me and my best friend would always meet up at the local library to revise. She is passionate about animals and has a lot pets which at times, can be distracting, and sometimes my parents don't like people coming over, so it was suitable for us to both meet at the library so we can study together.

And when I needed books for learning I got them from the library. When my dad needed a books, he got them from the library, when I needed books because we were studying those books in English Literature and I couldn't buy them for whatever reason, I got them from the library.

And even now, I'm studying 3 subjects at A-Level. Business Studies, Computer Science and Law. Altogether the books I need for this year alone come to about £90. That is most of what I earned this summer. And the books I need for next year come to about £90 as well. So altogether, if I was to buy every book I need it would come to about £180. That's a lot of money, for me. So I borrow the books I need for this year from my college library, and my mum got me the Computer Science one which I was super happy about, so I'm glad I have that one as my own.

But I know the other two are expensive so for now I'm just going to keep borrowing Business and Law from the college library or if the books I borrow I have to give back, and can't reborrow due to someone calling them out for a reservation I'll go to the central/city library (the one which they are planning to shut down, I hope they don't shut it down) near college and get the books from there.

So the fact that we can borrow books for free is another reason we should keep libraries open.

Any Last Words?

Hopefully, this has made those people who think we don't need libraries anymore think:

Actually... Just because I myself, don't use a library doesn't mean other people don't and they may actually come in use to other people, so yeah, they should stay open.

And as for the library they plan on shutting down, I couldn't visit it today because I planned to before college but then the bus was late, so I only had enough time to get to class and even then, I was still late to class. Then class ran longer than it should have, and I didn't want to miss the bus home because my parents always worry when I'm not home on time, and again, I was late home anyway because the bus was late again. But at least I wasn't lonely at the bus stop on my way home from college, my friend was with me so I had someone to complain with- and we literally saw every bus go past us, except the one we wanted😂And he almost got himself killed by a bus going past but that's a story for another day...

As for the library, I've made a plan to go on Friday because I have a really long lunchbreak on Fridays and most of the time I sit there and end up doing nothing, so a walk to the library and maybe getting a petition sheet and getting the people I know to sign it, can't hurt anyone. Plus, I'm even going to raise it at the student union, at our college we have thousands of pupil if everyone signed I'm sure that would be enough to save the library. And turns out, if you're a student at the college you'll automatically a member of the student union so that's good- so I could go to the 'Student's Union Hub' on Friday (tomorrow is my day and I have a ton of homework) and raise that issue.

So I have a plan, and hopefully, it should help save our library.

Wish me luck guys :P

Thank you for reading :)

#SaveOurLibraries

[IlyaTheImpaler]

"Digitalised books have their perks, like one person on my previous MyTake mentioned to me that E-books have dyslexic fonts"
😂 imagine after reading about the concept of `manifold` in 10 different differential geometry textbooks you vaguely remember one of them said something about how it all started with chain rule or something along that line. Good luck trying to locate that passage in a stack of 10 books... you might find the term `chain rule` in the index of some books after hours of searching, but it points to the definition and not the sentence you need. You could find it within 5 minutes using ebooks, and then someone tells you ebooks are cool because they have dyslexic fonts 😂

... and then while searching for that passage you read something about manifold related to the tangent bundle with really pretty pictures, so you want to locate that passage, then you read that some book defines derivative as linear map between tangent spaces, so you want to find that too, then you read about exterior derivative that literally looks like the right hand side of Schrodinger equation in quantum theory and you must find that passage to see what's the connection between them... You see when you actually learn something serious (like pretty much any topic in university mathematics), this happens. You run into a rabbit hole of concepts being linked to one another in many different texts. You need a way to search through the text for terms. That is only possible with digital books. Physical books have a very limited index because sometimes what you look for is not even a technical term, but an expression the author used. And you cannot take note of everything when you read, that's just more of the same.

Most importantly, the physical books trick your brain to learn in a linear way, you're basically learning from a Stack en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stack_(abstract_data_type), of course you can jump between pages, make notes, create bookmarks with some page markers but that's a lot of extra work, and everything you look at is still a single page. With ebooks you can use a simple program to edit everything into a Tree like structure en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_(data_structure) You're a CS student, I hope you understand that searching through a Stack vs searching through a Tree is like before and after the invention of the wheel. The biggest perk of a digitized book is actually the information structure it (potentially) provides (for those who realize): the ability to search through keywords and retrieve random piece of data in the back of your mind, and to learn in a vastly superior data structure.

I'm afraid if you want to argue for security and longevity, you need to look into how physical books and libraries could be damaged, in both natural cause or man made cause, they are not really safer than digital books...
- Power outage doesn't destroy your data... CS students these days lol
- Think about how many people can hack into a data base of a digital library to erase it (for what purpose lol), think about how many people might accidentally start a fire that burn down a physical library. Physical storage is vulnerable to many other things too.

That said, I think you made some good points, I agree physical books have values, we should keep printing them (after environmental considerations of course) for libraries, for less privileged people with no internet and electricity, and for people who don't learn anything complicated (which is, most people in this world). I actually believe the reason college kids hate math so much is because they print physical math text books, like fucking 900 pages Calculus textbook full of pointless details and formulas, when you actually structure them into a text file, they look much less intimidating and bonus point is you dont look like a huge nerd carrying a big book around lol
Also libraries provide excellent learning environment, very quiet place etc.

[SpiderManFan2002]

""Digitalised books have their perks, like one person on my previous MyTake mentioned to me that E-books have dyslexic fonts"
imagine after reading about the concept of `manifold` in 10 different differential geometry textbooks you vaguely remember one of them said something about how it all started with chain rule or something along that line. Good luck trying to locate that passage in a stack of 10 books... you might find the term `chain rule` in the index of some books after hours of searching, but it points to the definition and not the sentence you need. You could find it within 5 minutes using ebooks, and then someone tells you ebooks are cool because they have dyslexic fonts "

I never said that were the only reason E-Books were good. It's just something I didn't know, which I found pretty nice, considering I know a lot of dyslexic people who have to read physical books with this see through greeny-blue-ish type sheet, and a lot of the time, they lose it and stuff.

[SpiderManFan2002]

As for your point about Maths. I know a kid who got his Maths GCSE at age 12 and he got an A*. He learned from both physical books and online sources. Online sources can be more convenient and the physical book can be more specific to the examboard content, and building on certain exam skills.

[IlyaTheImpaler]

I know, I never noticed that feature either, that's why I find it funny. Nowadays I only read physical books when I sunbathe for vitamin D

[SpiderManFan2002]

I know power outages don't destroy your data - I'm not oblivious - but let's a country had a huge power outage, yes you can still access data from machines which are charged but once they run out of charge, we will have no power to charge them again, and therefore, we wouldn't be able to access the data.

[SpiderManFan2002]

"Think about how many people can hack into a data base of a digital library to erase it (for what purpose lol), think about how many people might accidentally start a fire that burn down a physical library. Physical storage is vulnerable to many other things too." For what reason? People have all kinds of motives. But it can happen.

And yes, both physical and digital books have vulnerabilities that is why it is important we keep both.

[Stingray444]

This is a good post. I even volunteered at the library throughout summer last year to help out.

Plus the library is even just a relaxing place to hang out and chill for all people. Even tho I'm not much of a big reader, I still like going there at times to read a bit and pick out a good informational or comedy/goofy book or two xd. Also if Starbucks is nearby, It's always nice to get a nice and warm drink to enhance the chillaxin' experience 😌

[SpiderManFan2002]

Aww that's so sweet of you.

And I totally agree with you- there's actually a Starbucks near the city library, but I'd still rather buy tea from college, and walk up with my tea because it's cheaper xD

[Stingray444]

Awh, Thanks 😅

That seems relaxing! And that's true, cheaper can be better. But just promise me you'll treat yoself to a nice Starbucks every now and then to pay off for all your hard work 😆

[flowers70]

Is this only the library in your area? Honestly they better not touch the libraries here. I really doubt they would since I live in the college town known as "university ". On the weekends the library is flooded with students especially when starbucks and barnes n noble are filled

[SpiderManFan2002]

You're from the US though, aren't you?

That library they're shutting down isn't in my area. It's near college and college isn't in my area. The library in my area, doesn't always have the books I need when it comes to studying but I suppose I could always get them to order a book from another library.

But I really don't want them to shut down the library they're going to shut down, because that could still come in use to me and so many other people.

[Anna__M]

Honestly I kinda disagree. I don’t think we need libraries as much as you think we do. Sure they can stay open for the elderly and less financially fortunate. But I don’t think anyone is really relying on libraries like that anymore. In this day and age they remind me of blockbuster while apps like audible, nook, and kindle are Netflix. It’s only a matter of time lol.

But despite me disagreeing. I think your passion for libraries is beautiful. So I wish you luck on your quest to save your library. 😘

[Sevenpointfive]

i'm glad you took my advice on getting your own petition sheet. i'd go even further and petition the school president to sign and urge his staff to sign. it wouldn't hurt to visit your old high school. you are what's missing in this petition! you have the connections to what this old man on the street didn't have. you alone can save this library. you should probably tell your parents to help you get this done if they are going to be so concerned about you being home. have them come with you if they must.

give the school libraries of both schools a petition sheet and pick them up later. every student will sign if they go up to the desk and the librarian will be happy to help out this cause!

[Iron_Man]

I like bookstores better they let you do what you want. Library's are real strict they don't let you take food past a ceartin area. Their kind of mean and grumpy and if you ask them anything they feel put out. They make comments if you spill anything on that computer you're paying for it and they have a security guard walking around and the moment you want to listen to a song on your tablet or play a video from youtube even with the sound down real low they walk over and they complain.
I've never been back since that day besided they have old books and they don't have anything laid out where you can find certain categories. I'll take my Borders book store
And Barnes & Noble anytime over that

[bolverk]

I agree that we need to save libraries for all of your points , but unfortunately we have a current intake of librarians who are winnowing through the current book stocks and disposing of any books that do not the current Intersectional/Identitarian dogma being force fed to those doing/have done Gender/Social/Liberal Arts studies, with the effect that Metropolitan Library's are becoming waste lands where you cannot find many of the classic authors, From the Greek philosophers to our greatest fiction, they are culled out on the cause of "racial bias", "white privilege" etc.
Its a waste of time keeping the Libraries if all of the best (and worst) works of humanity are lost through the misguided views of a few.

[CherryRoseChampange]

I think libraries should mainly be invested bear places schools and or scholars will be around. Otherwise, I don't really see the point.

I feel a little bad, but really I mainly visit bookstores or buy books offline. I only walk into libraries when it deals with education and thats about it. I like to keep my books because I read them continuously and I take care of them differently. I agree, they have value though and shouldn't be rid of completely.

[White-American89]

6. Homeless
Libraries are a place where homeless people can go to get warm and read.

It's no use libraries in the form they are now are finished, expect to see more shut down. What will replace them or what will take over some of the functions theu perform in soceity is unclear.

[yeeeeeeeet]

All Im going to say is that we need to revive the Library because old fucks keep coming into my store to have things printed and to use our computers. I hate having to explain how to open Word every 15 minutes and watching people click on the wrong icon 6 times each time. If the library becomes popular again, less of them will come into my store 👍

[Iamagoodguy]

The eye sight thing is probably because you used the wrong display when reading a lot a e-reader is a must

I agree with the rest but there needs to be a way to fund them and make them profitable too so there is a reason for the government to want to keep them

[SpiderManFan2002]

I suppose so. I mean it was on my laptop, but I can't remember what exact settings I had it on. It was six years ago. xD

Anyway on your second point I agree with you on that one. :)

[bailey11]

If something ever happens to the internet (or there's a power outage), we'll need libraries. They're a nice place to visit when we need to get away from our home environment, too.

[BIGGESTD39]

We need to save our nation im a TRUMPER but I think we do need both sides I do not believe in socialism but we can't let just 1 party rule the USA this is Revolutionary War was about so yes we still need both parties

[SpiderManFan2002]

Thank you for the opinion, and I'm from the UK.

[Tanisha69]

Let's save libraries from swarms of stinking homeless guys, parents dropping kids off for free childcare, and panhandlers staking out the entrances and exits.

[adolescentswede]

This makes me wish i had more things to do on my freetime then watch screens, also explains why i have been progressively getting worse sight since birth

[hardonesidedlover]

Yes. Library needs saving. There're the best places in our lives.

[lovedejj_xo]

I lived in the library during college I prefer buying my personal books to keep now instead of having to give them back 😢

[SpiderManFan2002]

Yeah, I've got a collection of reading books- they don't cost much, but the library has some seriously awesome reads which I like to borrow too :P

[Gedaria]

E books are great but you still need the original to yes as the genuine article...

[Salad982]

I like libraries. You can go and just chill there in a quiet place with other quiet people.

[Doodabeat]

Libraries get packed in urban areas.

[SpiderManFan2002]

Yet they're still planning on shutting one down...

[Doodabeat]

I mean libraries are very busy in urban areas. If a library shuts down its because it lacks traffic.

Most library services are free so libraries must receive special funding.

[Doodabeat]

Or to make room for more profitable businesses.

[BeHappy1985]

Nah.. Save them trees!!!