In the age of technology where whole books can be downloaded onto iPods and every book you’ve ever wanted is only a few mouse clicks away, you will be hard pressed to find someone who still heads towards the libraries for their reading materials. Anyone who is 15 years old or younger probably won’t remember a time when companies like Amazon.com didn’t exist. However, for those of us who are a bit older, we remember a time when if you wanted a book or needed to do research you either went to a bookstore or headed to the local library.
While the availability of information via the Internet has done wonders for the world of literature and publishing, sadly it has made libraries a little obsolete. Call me old fashioned but I love libraries and I sincerely hope that the younger generations don’t overlook them as an oasis of books. Where else can you get access to thousands of books for free? Where else can you get personalized recommendations or even check out movies…for free!
So Buzzers, what do you think about libraries? Are you still a fan or do you prefer to get your books and info from the Internet and bookstores? Share your thoughts here!
Comments
I've got a library a short walking distance from my house, and I love it there. Even if I don't always check out books when I go there, I still adore the sounds and the smells, and the cozy places to sit and read and work on schoolwork. I love wandering around the nonfiction section, just finding books of interest and then taking them to a table to browse through them. Libraries are very pleasant places for such things.
I think libraries aren't exactly obsolete; but I think that their original purpose (to lend out books) is only one of their many purposes. Libraries are nice places just to sit, think, relax, and read (or even do computer things, if they have WiFi).
I still love libraries. I don't have a Kindle or anything, and many of my books (and movies) still come from the library. They're free; can you ask much more? Libraries also offer job opportunities. Last summer, I volunteered at my library and got volunteer hours (and got to read during slow periods!).
If I had a better library, I know I would love to go there and just read or write, even just sit there and enjoy the peace, but with my somewhat ghetto library, it's just too noisy! Teens go there to hang out with their friends, and most times they're not very considerate of people who are trying to use the library for its intended purpose. =/ It's annoying.
Still, it's where I get all my books, movies, and music. I don't know what I'd do without it...no way are they obsolete!
I've never been a huge fan of libraries when it comes to reading books for leisure. But I think that's just because I never want to give the books back. I'd probably have less of a problem with that if there was a library closer to my house, but the one that's a ten minute drive from my house is really small. The next closest one is a good twenty to twenty five minute drive away, so my family hardly ever visits it. I tend to just go out and buy the books I want to read instead of checking them out at the library, since I don't usually pick up a book if I don't think I'm going to like it much.
Libraries are the best places ever. Of course, I prefer to check books out at read them at home rather than reading them there. You can grab any book and read it without having to keep it if you don't like it. I don't like to spend a lot of money--even on clothes: if jeans cost more than $5 I'll seriously consider passing them over. I very rarely buy new books, but I love to go to the library and check out ten at a time. It's an adventure to read something you love and then try and find it without spending $15. You don't have to! My sister has over 1,000 books and I can only think of a few occasions where she has spent that much on a single book. My sister and I frequently attend library book sales, check out resale shops, and use sites like www.bookmooch.com to gets books that we love. Of course, we like the thrill of finding used books in good condition.
Back to libraries: I love them so much I'm starting one in Nicaragua. www.librarymission.wordpress.com
I am a HUGE library supporter! I do buy a lot of books, but there are many I know I won't buy or don't want to buy, and the library is an invaluable resource. I can get just about anything, and if my library doesn't have it, they will track it down and get it. Also, you develop a relationship with your librarians when you use the library often. They begin to know your tastes, and can recommend things you will like, and you can have great book conversations with them, which is one of the joys of being a reader. I don't know what I would do without the great library system I have.
I love my library!! I think I have probably been going to it since I was two year old, and I still always want to, mostly because I love to read and really is there a better way to check out books for free??! Also, thanks to the wonderful Children's Librarian who has been there for ever, and still reads to the little ones...Libraries are only obsolete to those who have forgotten the simple joy of finding knowlege on a bookshelf instead of a computer! Go to your libraries!
I love Libraries. I think that the library is one of the most important and best buildings out there. There are thousands of worlds just waiting in it. As to reading on a screen of any kind, from computers to phones to ipods to those new things made especially for books, nothing compares to pages of paper. Besides being better for your eyes, regular books are more relaxing than any screen could ever be. If you have not heard of a library then you better get out more. Now, there are some libraries that I don't like the running of or policies very much such as only five books and $2.00 for a movie but the over all concept of the library is good. Even with those restrictions tho the library is one of the most relaxing and enjoyable places there is. So yes, I prefer libraries and books over screens and mouses. I will take paper books EVERY TIME!
POWER TO THE PAPER!!!!!!!!!!
I absoluttely love to go to the library. =] Its so peaceful there and you can actually get books for FREE. AMAZING!!!! Haha, sure you have to return them but at least you get to read them. Right? I do love to go to bookstores there, but it also makes me sad because there are soooo many books there that i want and don't have money to buy, but at the library i have an unlimited supply of books that i can read without spending a penny, unless you don't return them on time. ;]
Libraries give each book life. Instead of sitting on a shelf collecting dust, library books are shared and read over and over again, passing the treasure of a new story to each of its readers. Libraries hold great responsiblity to the world.
I love libraries! They are sort of like the U.S. Postal System...seemingly on the verge of extinction and fighting off an influx of digital versions of what it has always offered; but libraries and post offices have one thing technological advances do not: palpability. Can you run your fingers over the uneven text on a Kindle? No. Can you breathe in its published pages smell? No. Can you even literally "flip" through it?? NO! And what's the fun in that? Just like people, young and old, still enjoy getting letters in the mailbox, there will always be people who love going to the library and perusing its shelves and taking reading material home for free.
I don't think libraries will ever be forgotten. I mean libraries have been around since people could write. They are apart of who we are as humans and are the source of knowledge and understanding. Personally, I think libraries are the best thing that ever happened to the world!
I have this weakness with returning things on time. With school and stuff, I never think of it. I only request books if I don't have money to buy them or if I'm at the library and I see something. I know the library's cheeper, but oh well.
Definitely underrated oasis. Especially certain areas, like inter-library loans, magazines, and audiobooks. I know that I've been relying on my local libraries much more heavily because of the recession. What an amazing network of libraries we have in this country!
I personally LOVE libraries. Just as you said..the internet is amazing and is miraculous..but I love little better than a good old paperback resting in my hands. I hate reading books on anything else..they aren't books! I love browsing through the shelves and spending hours reading the backs to see if I am interested. Yes, I have bought books online..but only if it was part of a series, and I would have found that first book at the library. Just today I was thinking about how much i Love my school library :)
Libraries are still the best, the Real reason I support libraries is because thats how I'm getting 11 out of the 18 books ( 5 are manga and I need to get linger and forever to finish off the shiver series) but out of those books I much rather barrow from a library, also because my mom works in one it gives me and my mom an excuse to explore other slightly bigger libraries
They will NEVER be obsolete! esspially in this economy right now we need them more then ever
I prefer to go to the library. I really like to drive into town meaning that i live in the cornfields and just sit and read or get books and take them home. I love being able to get them and it is the highlight of my week or month when I get to go.
i love libraries. i still go to my local public library just to browse and be surrounded by books (much safer than a book store where i'm tempted to buy books). as for ebooks, my library actually lends them out which is really cool. as for research, i practically lived in my university's library last year while i was still in college as not all internet research are legit sometimes and i prefer getting my sources from books.
DOWN WITH ALL INTERNET BOOKS!!! All that I can stand is real books. Nothing compares to them. Nothing ever will.
Definitely an underrated oasis. My library is actually pretty wonderful. You can go online from any computer, request a book, and they will email you when it's ready to be picked up.
And I gotta say, it's not just that. Part of my love of reading was born in the library. There is nothing like spending an afternoon wandering the aisles...the smell of old books, the peaceful quiet, discovering books you had never even heard of before...
I usually only go to the library for fiction books, not for research. I think the internet is much more handy for that.
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I LOVE the library. When I was younger and I didn't have a job or the money to sustain my book cravings, the library would help me with that problem. I love the whole array of books and the lounge areas for book lovers. I love sitting down next to a shelf and thumbing through the spines and covers of shelved books. Now, I buy some of my books, but I still love going there to browse through the material.