This needs a response. Last month there was an article in the Daily Telegraph saying that public libraries are no longer needed in the UK and should be closed (The Liberal whingers are wrong – we should shut our libraries).
The argument, as far as I can tell, is that nobody goes to libraries to read books these days, so they should be closed. The article goes on to say that: “Fast, cheap computing has spread to most homes, and to our whizzy mobile phones.” It then goes on to argue that: “The final defence of the public library is that it is a place for the pupil who has nowhere else to study (on a computer) and revise.”
Where do you start with this? First, “fast, cheap computing” has not spread everywhere. 33% of UK homes do not have an internet connection (Office of National Statistics, August 2011). That’s a lot of homes, mostly homes containing older people or people with very little money to splash out of the latest gadgets. People who might think that food is more important than Facebook I’d imagine. If you break the numbers down, 19% of people say the reason they don’t have an Internet connection at home is due to cost.
Second, let’s demolish this myth that all homes are so safe and quiet and it’s just a matter of plugging in a laptop in to do some relaxed study. Some homes are violent. Some are loud and full of distractions. Moreover, some pupils struggle academically and may need to ask a human being for a little empathy once in a while. Arguing that public libraries should be closed because people can access Google at home is like saying that schools should be shut down because pupils can use distance learning ‘solutions’ from home.
I’ve seen some data on who uses libraries and I can promise you it’s not people like the author of this article. Public libraries are primary used by young mothers with children who are often looking for companionship and likewise by older people that often live alone. In other words, public libraries are used by people that are looking for other people, as well as books, computers, safety and tranquillity.,
I totally agree with you that libraries are often used as a place of study. Some people use libraries to get away from the ‘buzz’ of everyday life. In a world where it can be hard to concentrate without a smartphone beeping or vibrating every minute to update you on twitter, facebook, emails, texts, whatsapps, BBMs etc. – libraries are often seen as the ‘quiet place’ where people go to study or think and people still have the respect and discipline to observe the rules. Maybe the question we should be asking is how can we further develop our libraries to regain appeal? Maybe the answer is to trial subscriptions to journal databases; maybe the world needs reminded that although we live in a busy and ‘connected’ planet, these places still exist?
My library was packed last Sunday. Literally, no more seats. I can’t generalise the type of people in there – there were all different demographics.
The Evening Standard ran an article in May about a child who’s only book was the Argos catalogue. That doesn’t sound like “Fast, cheap computing has spread to most homes, and to our whizzy mobile phones.”
Fast computing might of arrived in homes, but books haven’t arrived there yet.
There’s a great movie script in that – what happens when your only reference to the outside world is a home shopping catalogue!
Not everyone can afford the web at home nor can they access iPad’s or smart phones again due to costs, but a library is a place where they can get online or find a safe place to study. To close all libraries is not a solution but a knee jerk reaction to economic and social blight that needs to be resolved in fact didn’t some guy called Marx write a manifesto in some library- where else can you go for free to enlighten yourself in information.
Quite right. From memory, around 25% of UK homes do not have a computer or an internet connection, so the idea that we all just get our information online is not thought out.
Even though I have mobile phone and computer, I still like to go to library to read newspapers and magazines (Who can afford to subscribe to so many newspaper and different kinds of magazines besides library?) in the weekend. I enjoy the quiet moment and the study atmosphere in the library. I can also browse the books on the shelves, just like browsing food in the supermarket.