I actually like to work in establishment that is weird amalgamation of coffeshop and rock club. During normal day hours it is almost empty and distraction free, but you can distract yourself if you want to.
Ditch Starbucks and work at the library
211–217 of 217 posts
Re: Ditch Starbucks and work at the library
#212Earlier quoted context omitted.
You make it sound so easy. Leaving aside the complicated legal question for determining what is and isn't considered pornography* , how would you go about actually doing it ? Is internet filtering perfectly reliable? Would hiring several extra library employees specifically to watch the internet stations suffice? Library staff are already trying to prevent people from viewing pornography on the public computers, work…
I reread my comment after it had been downvoted and realized I was probably not clear at all. I don't care about the downvoting, but I wanted to clear it up so no one reading it felt persecuted or unappreciated. When I said .1 cents I actually meant a small amount but not a trivial amount per paycheck multiplied by the tax paying population. So around 7 million per year. Not sure if that's significant enough, but it…
I understood where you're coming from. Unfortunately, tax increases for any library services can be a hard sell.
Mainly, I just wanted to point out that it's a quintessential "Small Matter of Programming" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_matter_of_programming) issue in library policy, and people who have never worked for a library can easily underestimate the difficulty. My response was a bit over-bristly, though, sorry.
Re: Ditch Starbucks and work at the library
#213I would agree with working at library. But I haven't been able to overcome one notable issue: Hours: Saturday 10AM - 5PM Sunday 12PM - 4PM Saturday is a possibility but Sunday is a joke.
I work for the New York Public Library, and believe me, we wish we could be open all day every day.
Last year, city budget cuts took the libraries in Queens and Brooklyn from 6 day service to 5, and we managed to keep NYPL open 6 days, but with reduced hours.
That said, there's a lot of people who freelance out of our libraries, and as strange as it sounds, one guy launched his hedge fund out of our business library (we have a few free Bloomberg terminals).
Re: Ditch Starbucks and work at the library
#214I work out the Columbia University libraries, although I'm not a student. For $500/year you can become a Friend of the Libraries and have access to all the libraries. It's a bargain if you consider how much you would spend at a coffee shop. Also, like the article says, fewer distractions and much more space.
I always go to the local university library when I want to get something done. I have no problem getting in or parking. Plenty of space to work. It's quiet and no distractions.
I work on my laptop without internet access, then upload everything when I get home. I never thought to inquire about wifi at the library.
Re: Ditch Starbucks and work at the library
#215Earlier quoted context omitted.
I suspect we can make a sensible distinction between being harassed by the police for being homeless and not being able to look at porn in a public library.
I think that is just as misleading as the quote above. Decide for yourself: Is this thread about viewing pornography in public places? Is this thread about _homeless_ or _too poor to pay for internet access in any way_ people looking at porn? Or are we seriously discussing about tax dollars being spent in a wrong way? Disclaimer following: I'm not a US guy and I've never been there, but both based on extrapolation (l…
Hmm. Perhaps you could read the actual responses by the people in the thread (including myself), instead of blindly responding to "the thread", whatever that is.
Re: Ditch Starbucks and work at the library
#216Earlier quoted context omitted.
I suspect we can make a sensible distinction between being harassed by the police for being homeless and not being able to look at porn in a public library.
Of course there is always the oh so subtle difference between "being harassed by the police for being homeless" and "being harassed by the police while incidentally being homeless". I've lived in 3 major cities, and I've only once seen what I would describe as unwarranted attention from the police directed the homeless. In fact, the majority of the time the police seem to completely ignore them, even when they're pur…
And yet, still unrelated to library porn-viewers.
Re: Ditch Starbucks and work at the library
#217Earlier quoted context omitted.
When I worked for a public library system (for, not at; I was a library employee), a fair amount of my time was spent watching the public internet stations. Mostly, helping people use the internet, keeping track of who was out of time, etc., but occasionally that meant kicking out people we caught looking at porn. It's not like it's encouranged . Be realistic. It's usually grounds for banning, and I doubt my library…
Who said it was encouraged? Every library is different. I'm sure if you go to one out in the burbs it is a lot different than in in the inner city, like I was visiting.
Your tone is making people misconstrue your point.