![]() Librar圜ity.org is all in favor of taxpayer-friendly libraries by way of cost-justification and other thrift, but whatever the medium, it is essential for public libraries to keep serving local communities-through localization of national digital collections, civic-related activities in person and online, local story-telling hours in libraries and on the Web, local content like videos and oral histories, cooperation with local writers and bookstores, and other means.įor now, here’s something for the good people of Newport Beach to ponder. In the context of the Newport Beach proposal, Dave Kiff, city manager, correctly acknowledged to the Pilot: “People identify with the library.” Publibs are far more than that, in fact. ![]() Simply put, the Balboa neighborhood deserves a real branch, an actual public library, even if the physical size shrinks. See why we’re interested in franchise and branding issues of public libraries-and a genuine public national digital library system respectful of local tastes and needs, including the promotion of books of all kinds, especially among the young? Give them a wide variety to read, and the right mix of content and face-to-face guidance and encouragement, not just a quiet place to study and academic achievement will go up. Will more shutdowns like the possibility above happen if the Harvard-hosted Digital “Public” Library of America positions itself as a public library replacement, wittingly or unwittingly? And if people think, “Who needs public libraries, when the DPLA and friends will handle things remotely”? “They come specifically to use the computers,” the Daily Pilot quotes Cynthia Cowell, the Newport system’s library services director. Money or lack of it isn’t the only explanation here: many patrons are shunning the paper books. Gone would be librarians and shelves of paper books instead Balboa would rely on remote reference services and electronic ordering from the surviving branches. The replacement would be Net connections and other technology in the “Internet library” room of a community center. Newport Beach, California, might shut down its 35,000-item Balboa branch, one of just four. Is this the future or nonfuture of many public library branches in the United States?
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