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Tool rental is a service that is commonly provided by private sector. I do not see a reason why this should be provided by a government. This seems like unfair competition to e.g. community hackerspaces.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The bottom line is they have as much a right to be there as you do and you're free to ignore them or interact with them as much or as little as you want to.
That's not the bottom line, the law is the law nobody is arguing to kick anyone out. This thread was just about why someone might not want to go there and then being gaslighted that homeless people are somehow not a risk group in any way lol
These are regulars at that library who never caused enough disruption to be banned, and aren't dangerous enough to be in jail. They also have more to lose by getting banned than housed patrons.
Ida Aukens prophecy has already come true. They own nothing and are happy about it...
What? I’d love to be able to borrow a sewing machine, tools, etc. I live in a small flat and I don’t need permanent ownership of those things. They spend 99.5% of the time sat taking up space. What good is that? For a lot of machines it’s not good to leave them idle, or sat in a shed collecting mould and rust.
Ida Aukens prophecy has already come true. They own nothing and are happy about it...
You are being unfair to the spirit of the original quote. Yes, the quote is naive in expecting a world where those who own share with those who rent without nefarious motives. But sharing, particularly in this context when profit is out of the equation, is a great idea. I don't have the money nor space for my own 3D printer, but thanks to my local library I own objectively more 3D printed stuff than I would without t…
I am not very fond of this idea. I think libraries are for books, or possibly media. I can see the utility but I think it distracts from the actual purpose.
The purpose of a library is what it does.
They used to lend books, to promote literacy & education. For youngsters to explore fields of knowledge & discover what they're interested in. Offer a selection of newspapers & magazines nobody can afford on their own.
Fablabs, places for students to work on their laptop, workshops etc fit right into this.
But the community center aspect has always been a thing. These days that might be extended in hosting a repair cafe, puzzles / board games, whatever that local community regards worthwhile.
If you think that's a no-go, maybe public libraries aren't for you. Or just stick to the book area.
Libraries around me have just become a homeless shelter. Pretty sad because the buildings themselves are actually quite nice and I'd use them often if it weren't for the high likelihood of being harassed.
15 years ago I lived in East London, and when I came to borrow books (e.g. to the "Idea Store Whitechapel"), I felt some sort of proudness seeing homeless people hanging out there, listening to mp3, having a coffee in the cheap cafeteria or - yes! - reading: True inclusion seemed to work in so few places in the country - at least there it was tangible. I live in Marseille/France now and haven't noticed this here; but a homeless person is not necessarily obvious - next time I visit, I'll have a look!
This only works in a high-trust society.
I think society only works in a high trust society. Well, maybe something exists functionally in low trust society, but it sounds miserable.
Tool rental is a service that is commonly provided by private sector. I do not see a reason why this should be provided by a government. This seems like unfair competition to e.g. community hackerspaces.
Agree, and I also don’t see why government should be involved in book rental. Why books and not say, car rental? What about jetski rental? (If the argument is that subsidizing books helps the poor, I’m all for it, a nonprofit or a charity would be a much better framework) This is the public sector M.O, instead of admitting something is obsolete they grab more scope and funding. My local post office now sells iPhones.…
> a nonprofit or a charity would be a much better framework
Why?
I do agree that libraries (in the UK at least) have mostly failed to see the writing on the wall and diversify. I used to live near a library that was on the edge of a super popular park. They had a "give us improvement suggestions" thing and I spoke to them about taking advantage of the park - it would have been a prime spot to open a cafe attached to the library. They actually couldn't comprehend that idea. Like, that's not what libraries are.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Libraries of Things are a thing now. The items that are most useful are those that lend things that you use from once a year to every couple of years. My local library (PEI Library Service) has a telescope, radon detector, a basic (and I mean basic) toolkit, some gardening tools among other things. The collection has a couple of surprises, but mostly underwhelming. I did request something more practical, like a bicyc…
Auto part stores often will lend both weird and specialized tools, and relatively basic ones, too. Usually the way it works is you "buy" the tool and then "return" it.