Should we close all libraries?

No books loaned from Barrow Island library in a year http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-46234480

Whilst bit of an anomaly, I wouldn’t thought this is too dissimilar to most of the libraries in the UK

The local council down here built a new library ( the old was flattened and the land sold off for both Shops and Housing )

Its ram packed most of the time, my youngest gets books out monthly, though we now use the " e-book " setup they have rolled out a little

My mum and dad use the library every week

our new one also has about 40 PC's for people to use, they get 1 hour time slots and can stay on if no-one else it waiting

mainly old people and Nigerians using them though, i overheard on of them was a nigerian prince, which sounded great, royalty can never be sniffed at :thumbup:

Clearly need more boats

If we close them all down, could I have Cathays library to make it into a house. It's a stunning building

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Originally Posted by blue matt

our new one also has about 40 PC's for people to use, they get 1 hour time slots and can stay on if no-one else it waiting

mainly old people and Nigerians using them though, i overheard on of them was a nigerian prince, which sounded great, royalty can never be sniffed at :thumbup:

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Is he the one that’s got millions of dollars locked up in a special account and needs your bank account details to get the loot out of the country ?

I sent mine but haven’t heard back yet

Still hopeful though

There are two clear reasons to close them
First is the cost of staffing
We can get local volunteers to carry the work required

Second is the cost of operating old buildings often in sites which developers want to acquire
This is more tricky as the squeeze comes on from cash strapped councils looking to cash in on their assets

I think there are lots of discussions about virtual libraries but this costs significant investment

I believe libraries offer a public service which is second to none

Back in the good old bad old days The miners often sponsored libraries through the miners institutes. One of the reasons for this was that the general sentiment was that they didn’t want their kid going down the mines like they had to

This had a big hand in increasing the numbers of working class youngsters attending university often in England and was a considerable mover in the Welsh diaspora into the English education system. a lot of these youngsters never came back to wales to work and contribute to the community which provided them with opportunity for betterment

Are libraries a good thing ?
Imo yep for sure

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Originally Posted by light up the darkness

Is he the one that’s got millions of dollars locked up in a special account and needs your bank account details to get the loot out of the country ?

I sent mine but haven’t heard back yet

Still hopeful though

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Oh i never eavesdropped the whole conversation, that would have been rude

he might have been though :thumbup:

I am sure he will come good for you, might just be busy with " royalty stuff " you seen what Will and Harry have to do, busy blokes

So no-one's been in the Hub-type libraries such as the one at Gabalfa?
More of an admin arm for services than a library - complete with coffee shop.
And the main library in town is similar.
Cathays library has a wonderful local history section/archive.

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

So no-one's been in the Hub-type libraries such as the one at Gabalfa?
More of an admin arm for services than a library - complete with coffee shop.
And the main library in town is similar.
Cathays library has a wonderful local history section/archive.

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Cathays library now holds all the historical records like Kellys and maps and stuff that used to be spread out in all different libraries. I found out the actual house my Dad lived in when he was 2 years old from there lolo.
The only snag is id there's a fire it will all get lost at once.

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Originally Posted by xsnaggle

Cathays library now holds all the historical records like Kellys and maps and stuff that used to be spread out in all different libraries. I found out the actual house my Dad lived in when he was 2 years old from there lolo.
The only snag is id there's a fire it will all get lost at once.

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More than once I've been struck by the fact that TNA is directly under the flight path into Heathrow....

Libraries gave us power.

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Originally Posted by Wales-Bales

Libraries gave us power.

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"knowledge is power". And the internet is information, not knowledge. Long may they survive and thrive..

Nah, we should burn down every MacDonalds in the country and replace them with a library :thumbup:

Sludge went into his local library and asked the female assistant if he could take a new book home called “How to satisfy a woman with a micro penis” She said “ I don’t think it’s in yet”
That’s the one said Sludge!!

I think libraries should stay and council, should think smarter about how they run them , they are usually in large buildings ,could they not tap into pre and post school clubs , small film rooms , rent out for dance ,drama societies, run cubs ,scouts from them rentbthem put for events such as birthdays ,even allow a commercial coffee outlet to sub rent.

If they want to save money , reduce the fat at the top of the organisation .

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Originally Posted by WJ99mobile

No books loaned from Barrow Island library in a year http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-46234480

Whilst bit of an anomaly, I wouldn’t thought this is too dissimilar to most of the libraries in the UK

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This is another news report trying to "support" the closing down of public services. Modern libraries supply far more services than "lending" books. They have the internet, so those who can't afford a computer have access to the net, and of course can then access other public services which are only available on line. They run reading clubs/ story telling for pre-school children, and home work clubs for children at school. They are some of the last places elderly people can go to meet others. They are used by people to conduct research through their reference books, family history resources, local newspaper archives etc.

It's always a sad day when a library is closed. Closing libraries is taking away a basic educational resource from those who are less able to afford their own.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by light up the darkness

There are two clear reasons to close them
First is the cost of staffing
We can get local volunteers to carry the work required

Second is the cost of operating old buildings often in sites which developers want to acquire
This is more tricky as the squeeze comes on from cash strapped councils looking to cash in on their assets

I think there are lots of discussions about virtual libraries but this costs significant investment

I believe libraries offer a public service which is second to none

Back in the good old bad old days The miners often sponsored libraries through the miners institutes. One of the reasons for this was that the general sentiment was that they didn’t want their kid going down the mines like they had to

This had a big hand in increasing the numbers of working class youngsters attending university often in England and was a considerable mover in the Welsh diaspora into the English education system. a lot of these youngsters never came back to wales to work and contribute to the community which provided them with opportunity for betterment

Are libraries a good thing ?
Imo yep for sure

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:thumbup:

Education of the poor is the curse of the ruling classes.

The internet in a nutshell, one hasn't had any books taken out = SHOULD WE CLOSE ALL LIBRARIES? :hehe:

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Originally Posted by Harry Monk

:thumbup:

Education of the poor is the curse of the ruling classes.

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“Education sets you free”

Epictetus 65AD
John Milton 1650 ish

And Paola Friere more recently in the Pedagogy of the Oppressed

It’s timeless

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Originally Posted by William Treseder

Sludge went into his local library and asked the female assistant if he could take a new book home called “How to satisfy a woman with a micro penis” She said “ I don’t think it’s in yet”
That’s the one said Sludge!!

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😂

Quote:

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Originally Posted by light up the darkness

“Education sets you free”

Epictetus 65AD
John Milton 1650 ish

And Paola Friere more recently in the Pedagogy of the Oppressed

It’s timeless

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Ironic that the noun Pedagogue originally referred to a slave who took children to school.

With all these "Hwbs" they've built around Cardiff, wouldn't it be cheaper to somehow incorporate the Libraries with them? New buildings with more use and cheaper running costs.

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Originally Posted by ken smith

With all these "Hwbs" they've built around Cardiff, wouldn't it be cheaper to somehow incorporate the Libraries with them? New buildings with more use and cheaper running costs.

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They have in some cases I think

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Originally Posted by Harry Monk

Ironic that the noun Pedagogue originally referred to a slave who took children to school.

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More accurately we should use androgogy as I presume we are referring to adults as opposed to children who may use libraries to a lesser extent

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Originally Posted by Harry Monk

This is another news report trying to "support" the closing down of public services. Modern libraries supply far more services than "lending" books. They have the internet, so those who can't afford a computer have access to the net, and of course can then access other public services which are only available on line. They run reading clubs/ story telling for pre-school children, and home work clubs for children at school. They are some of the last places elderly people can go to meet others. They are used by people to conduct research through their reference books, family history resources, local newspaper archives etc.

It's always a sad day when a library is closed. Closing libraries is taking away a basic educational resource from those who are less able to afford their own.

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This.
Libraries are one of the three most important roles of local council.
Where I live has the busiest library in the state. I have always been a little proud of that fact.
And they are often in very interesting buildings, which also need protecting.