Comments on: What should a modern library be?

By: Gregory Zhu

Gregory Zhu — Thu, 27 May 2010 22:05:52 +0000

Seems like many xbox enthusiasts here, I am a fan also and enjoy to play video games… my girlfriend says I play way too much, but man it’s so pleasant. I’ve been playing cod: modern warfare 2 and halo for weeks and can’t stop! What would you guys recommend? Anyways, appears like a nice website, is this wordpress? I’ve made a couple pages myself and ain’t easy. Cheers for taking time to post this up.

By: Sergio Kai

Sergio Kai — Mon, 10 May 2010 09:27:03 +0000

You should really check out the free $50 bonus being offered at our brand new Bet Phoenix Casino. Limited time offer at: Bet Phoenix. Good luck!

By: Geoff

Geoff — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 23:48:07 +0000

M@,

The argument I am making is that libraries are not in the business of books. They are in the business of knowledge.

Knowledge can be embodied in ink on a page or bytes on a chip. All of that is not so important. It is the people that use the library spaces and the needs of people.

When looking at this problem, we need to consider people and not objects first. The architecture and objects should follow from there.

By: -M@

-M@ — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 19:15:23 +0000

This brings up some interesting ideas/ideals that I feel many of us consider at different times. I’ve personally been at conflict with the perceived ‘need’ to have a degree in particular areas for the sole purpose of employment after school. I do not feel this is a result of the institutions but rather from shifting standards in business and societal pressures. In turn, schools also operating like corporations, have increased tuition to astronomical numbers since the demand for higher education has increased. This is starting to backfire in this country though because the cost is too high and for most people the cost simply does not justify going to a university to get knowledge they can easily get outside of that environment.

It is the environment of the university that makes for productive learning and provides more than just the information in the books we can get on our own time. I agree that an organized institution does not necessarily need to be a part of that experience. Usually at college, students are surrounded by others who share a common desire to learn the information being taught and to be part of a public dialogue about a certain subject and learn from each other. I also believe that if systems were in place to allow people to self-organize these ‘classes’ it would be providing the same service as a university and could, perhaps, be even more educational.

A free public library is the ideal setting for this type of learning to take place. Not only does a library house the information people want to learn, it also has access to academics, teachers, community organizers, schools and (sometimes!) money. Personally, I would love to have a nice comfortable library space to use in my neighborhood that was open fairly late and maybe had a cafe. Even here at school the library is one of my favorite places to be despite the awkwardness of the physical space. Being surrounded by such an immense amount of knowledge is humbling, inspiring and motivational. Not only does internet and a computer just not translate in the same way, it is not as whole or complete and is just an extension of what has existed for thousands of years.

I am fearful that libraries will cease to exist if people, students especially, continually to rely too heavily on the web and computers instead of books.

By: PLA Blog » Blog Archive » Philadelphia Junto: Rethinking the Library

PLA Blog » Blog Archive » Philadelphia Junto: Rethinking the Library — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 16:42:45 +0000

[...] ‘Rethinking the Library’. In an open forum provided by P’unk Avenue, whose blog posts (1) and (2) were the impetus for this Junto, everyone got to speak their mind about what they believe [...]

By: wes thomas

wes thomas — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 07:09:55 +0000

Good read.. very inspiring idea of an open source place of learning..

Free wifi and information sharing amongst common people with a curious dedication to learn sounds great to me, and it makes total sense

By: Adam

Adam — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 04:22:49 +0000

When I think of the word library, nothing but dark thoughts and bad experiences come to mind. Why is this? Why isn’t a library more appealing when it’s time to get work done? For starters, I think the library should be referred to differently. Everyone hated the library as a child so now that we are older we would like nothing more than to never have to experience that again. Calling it something else, such as resource lounge… or knowledge center… or anything that puts a happier thought in our head rather than the current dismal one, would completely change the cold, dark, dusty feeling that is associated with the library. With a new name, there would be no preconceived negativity towards it. Everyone would at least want to check out what this new place is all about and would most likely visit it at least once. Once they have entered the doors, you want them to feel welcome and more than anything else comfortable. When I think library, I want comfort to be the first thing that pops into my head. Before we start redesigning the building itself, adding cafe’s and walls and what not, why not simply make it a little more like your home? Everyone has that one couch or chair or some spot in their home where they love to just relax and read a book. So why not create this good feeling where we work and do research? Creating a place that people would visit even when they don’t have work to do is, in my mind, what a modern library should be.

By: candra

candra — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:02:24 +0000

At least the people thinking about redoing the philly free library are aiming high. A teen center, 300 public-access computers, a business department, a cafe, and all on top of the intense visual of a huge sweeping glass wall. The topic of learning and changing how we deal with receiving information and education in school is very interesting. I remember about 10 years ago when my local library in NY received a huge budget and expanded their building. It opened up job opportunities in our town, such as for the cafe employees. It also changed my perception of going there to get books as a kid, here is this new building with lots of sunlight and people going in and out, it would make going exciting and inviting. This definitely ties in with what wendy was saying about our societies values on education vs. entertainment.

By: Wendy

Wendy — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 18:41:44 +0000

I remember vividly my first trip to Las Vegas many years ago, where I observed the technology, imagination and resources put into keeping people inside the casino environment. Lavish shows suspended from the ceiling over gamblers’ heads and fantastical environments. I compared that with the scene inside our main library at the time, where everything (including the people) felt old, dusty and half-asleep. Where it was impossible to plug in a laptop because power outlets were only in the ceiling. At the time I thought: the messages this sends about what our society values and what the learning experience is like are tragic. YES, let’s have the library be a center of democracy in action and life-long learning. But let’s also keep in mind that our libraries need to create an experience for children and youth that says: reading and learning are dynamic, exciting, fun; our community values ideas as much as we value sports teams or holidays with fireworks and parades.

By: james diMartino

james diMartino — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 15:30:37 +0000

College as finishing school an apt description. The old idea of a “liberal education” was that you “learned” a little about a broad variety of subjects. The Dual goal being to generally inform the student and provide an appreciation for the various disciplines. The “hope” was that one of them would strike a chord and become a passion.

Nice thought, but it wasn’t my experience.

There is something to be said for the old Guild structure where the craft that all work is at its heart is taught through experience. (To know is To Be). Apprentice,
Journeyman, Master Craftsman.

Library as New Union Hall – a bricks and mortar/digital space that acts as a clearing/meeting house for the Guilds.

The experience of the Library decribed by Lavardera could support such a model. But is it a case of If you build it will they come?

I am curious.