Author Topic: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries  (Read 4611 times)

Just Joe

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Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« on: July 22, 2018, 09:34:26 AM »
https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2018/07/21/amazon-should-replace-local-libraries-to-save-taxpayers-money/

And if a person is poor, I'm not sure how they make use of those places like Starbucks.

Psychstache

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #1 on: July 22, 2018, 10:14:08 AM »
Pretty lazy "article" by a privileged, sheltered libertarian.

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Kris

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #2 on: July 22, 2018, 10:26:07 AM »
Only people with money should be allowed to exist in public.

Eff parks, too. If people want green space, let them join a country club.
« Last Edit: July 22, 2018, 11:26:52 AM by Kris »

teen persuasion

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #3 on: July 22, 2018, 10:46:08 AM »
Does the author not understand the difference between free (library WiFi, library services like Hoopla/Freegal/Overdrive/RBDigital, library books/DVDs/magazines/games/artwork) and not free (Starbucks drinks, Prime membership, Netflix membership, bookstore purchases, magazines subscriptions, etc.)?

Other big issue: age access.  The kids in the village drop in to use the library whenever they like, we encourage kids to get their own library card.  Does Starbucks encourage groups of kids to hang out and play Roblox?  Can preteens sign-up for memberships with services, legally?  Doesn't a bookstore want to actually sell merchandise to customers, rather than just have them browse for hours?

Does Amazon provide computers and software and internet access and printers and scanners for people who don't have them, as the library does?  Does Amazon archive local yearbooks and local history?  Does Amazon run a free preschool story hour, or Summer Reading Program, or drop in tech classes and  services?

bacchi

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #4 on: July 22, 2018, 10:50:10 AM »
A libertarian's dream world would be a shitty place to live.

Even for libertarians.

plainjane

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2018, 11:05:25 AM »
I am not giving the author the clicks. But it is sad when a newspaper publishes something and likely forgets recent news, like why Starbucks was closed for an afternoon to give everyone training on not calling the police on POC.


Just Joe

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #6 on: July 22, 2018, 11:08:07 AM »
That article needed a comments section... The author needs an education.

nereo

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #7 on: July 22, 2018, 11:17:10 AM »
Quote
There was a time local libraries offered the local community lots of services in exchange for their tax money. They would bring books, magazines, and journals to the masses through a borrowing system. Residents could borrow any book they wanted, read it, and return it for someone else to read.

They also provided residents with a comfortable place they could enjoy their books. They provided people with a place they could do their research in peace with the help of friendly librarians.

In my experience, all of the above still hold true.
I have no doubt that libraries will need to continue to evolve to stay relevant - mine now spends a considerable portion of its budget providing computer access, digital books and hosting classes for continued learning.

Paul der Krake

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #8 on: July 22, 2018, 01:37:40 PM »
It's actually really hard to find an indoor semi-public space. Coffee shops don't really accommodate groups larger than 10-ish, and everyone can overhear what you say.

This guy is just mad because he went to his library and saw a bunch of poor people watching Youtube videos on the computers instead of reading Nietzsche or something.

nereo

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #9 on: July 22, 2018, 02:00:07 PM »
It's actually really hard to find an indoor semi-public space. Coffee shops don't really accommodate groups larger than 10-ish, and everyone can overhear what you say.

This guy is just mad because he went to his library and saw a bunch of poor people watching Youtube videos on the computers instead of reading Nietzsche or something.

more likely he's pissed because other people are using 'his' tax monies. And he owns stock in Amazon.

Noodle

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #10 on: July 22, 2018, 02:08:26 PM »
That may be the dumbest article I've read in a really long time.

Libraries still do all the things that the author claims they "used to do" plus a lot more. Not to mention that only a small percentage of the books and media created are available through the various streaming providers. Who makes the rest available? That would be libraries. And apparently people without money don't deserve access to literature or culture, despite self-education being the classic way to "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps."

And anyone who thinks that the schools are OK with community groups wandering around their spaces these days has clearly not been paying attention to the news for the last five years.

Raymond Reddington

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #11 on: July 22, 2018, 05:03:18 PM »
People like this piss me off. They want to monetize literally everything. Charge you for air.

People like this are why NYC is not nearly as fun as it was 20 years ago.

nessness

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #12 on: July 22, 2018, 08:11:06 PM »
That article needed a comments section... The author needs an education.
I saw this article on Facebook and the Facebook comments were pretty much universally extolling the virtues of libraries and calling this guy an idiot.

letired

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #13 on: July 22, 2018, 08:20:05 PM »
That dude got dragged to hell and back on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PMourdoukoutas/status/1020654721655242754

also, that guy is a complete idiot and that article was total 100% clickbait


Just Joe

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #14 on: July 23, 2018, 08:12:44 AM »
https://gizmodo.com/behold-this-disastrously-bad-op-ed-calling-for-amazon-t-1827789820

I hope EVERYONE calls him out on that article. I think it was a lazy article.

StarBright

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #15 on: July 23, 2018, 08:26:28 AM »
My library is amazing! In the winter they add silent recumbent bikes and sun lamps in the reading area. We have an area where you can borrow "stuff": You can check out telescopes and about 100 different fancy cake pans, and bad mitten (hmm - whoops - badminton)  sets and guitars and ukulele's in addition to more books than you will ever need. They offer incredible programs in the evenings and craft nights and lego club for kids.

I really just wanted to talk about how cool my library is. It is, hands down, one of the best things about my mustacheberg!

   
« Last Edit: July 23, 2018, 09:01:08 AM by StarBright »

nereo

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #16 on: July 23, 2018, 08:39:37 AM »
My library is amazing! In the winter they add silent recumbent bikes and sun lamps in the reading area. We have an area where you can borrow "stuff": You can check out telescopes and about 100 different fancy cake pans, and bad mitten sets and guitars and ukulele's in addition to more books than you will ever need. They offer incredible programs in the evenings and craft nights and lego club for kids.

I really just wanted to talk about how cool my library is. It is, hands down, one of the best things about my mustacheberg!

 

Is a bad mitten set two mittens that have holes in the thumbs?

StarBright

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #17 on: July 23, 2018, 09:00:15 AM »
My library is amazing! In the winter they add silent recumbent bikes and sun lamps in the reading area. We have an area where you can borrow "stuff": You can check out telescopes and about 100 different fancy cake pans, and bad mitten sets and guitars and ukulele's in addition to more books than you will ever need. They offer incredible programs in the evenings and craft nights and lego club for kids.

I really just wanted to talk about how cool my library is. It is, hands down, one of the best things about my mustacheberg!

 

Is a bad mitten set two mittens that have holes in the thumbs?

whoops - I had it as bad minton as two words and get spell checked. I'll fix! Thanks!

nereo

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #18 on: July 23, 2018, 09:22:19 AM »
My library is amazing! In the winter they add silent recumbent bikes and sun lamps in the reading area. We have an area where you can borrow "stuff": You can check out telescopes and about 100 different fancy cake pans, and bad mitten sets and guitars and ukulele's in addition to more books than you will ever need. They offer incredible programs in the evenings and craft nights and lego club for kids.

I really just wanted to talk about how cool my library is. It is, hands down, one of the best things about my mustacheberg!
 

Is a bad mitten set two mittens that have holes in the thumbs?

whoops - I had it as bad minton as two words and get spell checked. I'll fix! Thanks!
just pulling your corona, StarBright :-)

mxt0133

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #19 on: July 23, 2018, 10:38:02 AM »
My library is amazing! In the winter they add silent recumbent bikes and sun lamps in the reading area. We have an area where you can borrow "stuff": You can check out telescopes and about 100 different fancy cake pans, and bad mitten (hmm - whoops - badminton)  sets and guitars and ukulele's in addition to more books than you will ever need. They offer incredible programs in the evenings and craft nights and lego club for kids.

I really just wanted to talk about how cool my library is. It is, hands down, one of the best things about my mustacheberg!

 

Where, oh where is this magical place located?

StarBright

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #20 on: July 23, 2018, 10:51:58 AM »
My library is amazing! In the winter they add silent recumbent bikes and sun lamps in the reading area. We have an area where you can borrow "stuff": You can check out telescopes and about 100 different fancy cake pans, and bad mitten (hmm - whoops - badminton)  sets and guitars and ukulele's in addition to more books than you will ever need. They offer incredible programs in the evenings and craft nights and lego club for kids.

I really just wanted to talk about how cool my library is. It is, hands down, one of the best things about my mustacheberg!

 

Where, oh where is this magical place located?

Believe it or not, NW Ohio. it is certainly not for everyone but the cultural institutions here can't be beat when it comes to free/cheap family friendly activities.

GuitarStv

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #21 on: July 23, 2018, 11:07:24 AM »
Pretty lazy "article" by a privileged, sheltered libertarian.

The 'privledged, sheltered' part is understood by invoking the term libertarian.  :P

BookLoverL

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #22 on: July 23, 2018, 03:45:20 PM »
Ok, so, my internet wasn't playing ball with letting me read the actual article for some reason, but here's what I think of libraries closing:

NO

and here's what I think of allowing Amazon to be in control of my book supply (and the general information supply):

DEFINITELY NO

Libraries do need to stay with the times and make sure to include internet access points and printers and things like that, it's true. I should note that "stay with the times" does not mean "dumb down and leave out all the really interesting books because people these days are idiots". The book collection still ought to include a wide variety of non-fiction categories, to a reasonably in-depth level, in addition to various fiction genres.

Edit: punctuation typo

plainjane

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #23 on: July 24, 2018, 05:53:59 AM »
Ok, so, my internet wasn't playing ball with letting me read the actual article for some reason

Forbes took the article down. Somethingsomething the person was writing outside their area of expertise somethingsomething thanks for all the clicks the advertisers love us I'm sure we'll learn the right thing from this experience somethingsomething.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #24 on: July 24, 2018, 06:45:51 AM »
My library is amazing! In the winter they add silent recumbent bikes and sun lamps in the reading area. We have an area where you can borrow "stuff": You can check out telescopes and about 100 different fancy cake pans, and bad mitten (hmm - whoops - badminton)  sets and guitars and ukulele's in addition to more books than you will ever need. They offer incredible programs in the evenings and craft nights and lego club for kids.

I really just wanted to talk about how cool my library is. It is, hands down, one of the best things about my mustacheberg!

 

That sounds awesome.  Our library also has a huge cake pan collection. We don't have telescopes though.

Dicey

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #25 on: July 26, 2018, 07:17:25 AM »
Ok, so, my internet wasn't playing ball with letting me read the actual article for some reason

Forbes took the article down. Somethingsomething the person was writing outside their area of expertise somethingsomething thanks for all the clicks the advertisers love us I'm sure we'll learn the right thing from this experience somethingsomething.
I wasn't going to click on it anyway, but I'm glad it's gone. I sit on two library boards in my town and I'm happy to report that libraries are alive and thriving here.

Moonwaves

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #26 on: July 30, 2018, 01:50:11 AM »
Since there are some people here who are interested in libraries, you might enjoy this article from the Irish Times on a day in the life of the Central Library in Dublin. Not sure if it was in the works anyway or a reaction to the Forbes article, but it's a lovely piece of writing.

remizidae

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #27 on: July 31, 2018, 01:08:22 AM »
Only people with money should be allowed to exist in public.

Eff parks, too. If people want green space, let them join a country club.

Someone I went to school with argued that public pools were unnecessary because everyone could just join the country club. I thought country clubs were created to keep out people like me?

okonomiyaki

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Re: Forbes says Amazon should replace libraries
« Reply #28 on: July 31, 2018, 04:29:38 AM »
I have a 1 year old. The library is the only place I can go for free if I need 2 hours in peace on my computer, to study or apply for jobs...

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!