once libraries exist, they want to perpetuate their existence (or jobs, at least) so they chase the popular in search of more library "views" which justifies their existence. I'm not anti library, but this is why they do stuff like lend out power tools.
You make it sound nefarious for them to loan power tools somehow, while it seems like it's just an identified community need niche that they can service that no other organization will, the same as offering free tax advice or ESL classes or anything else.
people criticize "rent seeking" all the time, but the avg person is a rent seeker. Everybody wants stable income/job security, including (especially?) librarians. I'm not calling it particularly nefarious, rather I'm pointing out its nefarity is in keeping with ordinary human nature.
This is one of the most unhinged take I've ever read on libraries. Respectfully, it looks like you have never understood what libraries really are. At least here, in Italy, a library organizes events such as photography shows, local artists exhibits, and sometimes hosts voluntary activities (people here might know things such as corderdojo ecc...)
The discoverability of new books is excellent, librarians routinely make a selection of books on some topics, it may be a generic one "history", specific one "important people in history" which are way better than any other system that tries to recommend me books
Last, but not least, libraries are on of the few remaining places "for the people, by the people". You're not expected to pay anything, you can walk in any, take a book, read it, sit down and relax. It's also a place where a lot of students can go to study in silence, I can't think of many other places which offer a similar quietitude.
It would be a disservice to reduce libraries to "places where you can read Taylor swift books" (not that there's anything wrong with reading Taylor swift or Spare), losing libraries would mean loosing one of the remaining "third places" we have in our always more disconnect society
> Just because some members of the community need power tools doesn’t mean we all benefit from that. We all benefit from police, fire, ambulance, and roads — we all don’t benefit from free power tools.
Lol, roads. Taxes should only cover public walkways and public transit between walkable areas.
And I'm not even sure about sidewalks. First, they require roads, and we already tossed those. I mean sure, we all use roads, but do we really all benefit equally from every road? I've never even driven on half the streets in my town, but my tax dollars still pay for their upkeep. It's madness!
And don't even get me started on sidewalks. I choose to drive everywhere, so why should a single penny of my hard-earned money go toward maintaining sidewalks for pedestrians? Walking is a personal choice. If you want somewhere to walk, go build your own private walking path. Bootstraps, people!
Oh, and public parks? Talk about a bridge too far. Without kids or dogs in the house, I never use them. Why am I still paying for other people's kids and pets to have a place to play? Back in my day, we entertained kids and puppies with sticks and stones in our own backyards, and we turned out just fine. If parents and dog owners want parks, they can band together and build their own - on their own dime, of course.
Heck, when you really think about it, even having a public fire department is kind of overstepping. I've never had a fire, so that's a service I've never personally used. Shouldn't each citizen be responsible for putting out their own fires? You could purchase your own hose and hydrant, or for a small fee, subscribe to a privatized firefighting service. Same goes for the military, and borders. If you don't like immigrants, drive them back across the border yourself.
Look, the free market is the answer for all of this. Well, except the corporate subsidies, and bank bailouts, since companies and banks do actually “cater to our every need from before birth to after death.” But definitely for everything else!
Have you considered leaving this society where people value libraries for one without taxes? It might suit you better.
As per tools, you benefit from having a community that doesn’t needlessly spend on tool duplication or rental, which ultimately concentrates local wealth. But that’s an economic argument when the real one is that it’s a desirable service for cost, convenience and community spirit.
To be fair, the library lovers took over the government from the no tax party, so you are bound to see some friction. No taxes lost their country, and are frustrated.
"I am not opposed to libraries or free tool rental — I am opposed to paying for them with our public tax money. If people want those things, then band together and spend your own money doing it. Ironically enough, I’d even donate to such a cause. "
Alright so NOT public funds, but everyone that wants to take part or that is tacitly endorsing it.. and you would even give happily?
What's the difference with taxes?
I sure wonder how much is spent on public librairies vs the tax cuts companies like Apple get. But surely, we all benefit from multinationals getting tax cuts, aren't we? Much more than from our neighbors having access to books and tools right?
Libraries contribute to literacy and education, cornerstones of a stable democratic society.
If you're worried about government spending your tax money, start with the military aka "defense": $857 billion in 2023. From which we citizens benefit through ... (maintaining a global military hegemony, hurrah for us!).
A 2% trim in defense funds all libraries in the US with plenty to spare.
Because being a good person means giving a shit about literally anyone else.
Sorry, but you're a bad person. "I got mine, fuck you" makes you a bad person.
A normal, functioning society uses its excess resources to help everyone, including assholes who think they're the most important person on the planet.
One tenth of one percent of your taxes went to teaching a toddler how to read, or teaching a teenager how to fix their bike. Someone who can't afford otherwise rented a DVD to watch with their family and you're mad about that.
You're the worst kind of person, and the entire reason that our society is so sick.
> The need for physical libraries has passed just as the need for “public” radio and TV has passed. The internet has made those concepts as archaic as carrying coins.
Your bizarre take is hopefully one of youthful ignorance, but you do know the internet costs money right? Do you also know libraries are a source of internet for people that can't afford it?
> The need for physical libraries has passed... The internet has made those concepts as archaic as carrying coins.
Our species' and society's need for community remains high. Many of us (naive) technophiles predicted the internet would somehow be the best community ever. Perhaps even global.
Oops.
As you know, the internet, esp algorithmic hate machines and social media, destroys community. Our declining public and mental health is just one terrible adverse effect.
The need for libraries, to rebuild and nuture communities, has never been greater.
Kind of but they're meeting a need even if it's a bit of an inefficient way to do it. I don't think most library visitors are there for books anymore, at least not where I go. It's adults using the web, kids playing videogames, parents entertaining their kids with the toys, local bored people chatting to the librarians, club meetings, moving screenings, etc. One librarian told me they're really now a "community center" rather than a library and that they don't have that old-fashioned rule of being quiet in the library.
