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The last thing libraries need is Silicon Valley “disruption.”

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Re: The last thing libraries need is Silicon Valley “disruption.”

#151

Post by maym86 »

jklinger410 wrote: post #90
maym86 wrote: post #5

I'm sick of people going after things they don't use or understand that are valuable to people of lesser means while spewing the efficiencies of the free market. Amazon only makes as much money as it does because it manages to avoid paying tax while utilizing the infrastructure built and maintained by collecting taxes.

>Amazon only makes as much money as it does because it manages to avoid paying tax while utilizing the infrastructure built and maintained by collecting taxes. It would still make a lot of money without all of that, though. Amazon is top of mind when it comes to simplicity when shopping on the internet, period. You can't take that away from them with the torrent of anti-amazon memes you are clearly quoting from. Our…

> It would still make a lot of money without all of that, though.

Exactly. They can afford to pay taxes.

> Amazon to turn all of that down so they could make less money you are fucking kidding yourself.

Do you think the government's inabilty to effective claim taxes is in a vacuum and not driven by these large corporations? Amazon is not just innocently taking advantage of these loopholes because they happen to be there. The are actively fighting to keep them open and create more.

Re: The last thing libraries need is Silicon Valley “disruption.”

#152

Post by [deleted] »

tivert wrote: post #129
petra wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The internet, at least intermittently and slowly -which is enough for books, is more accessible than public libraries.

> The internet, at least intermittently and slowly -which is enough for books, is more accessible than public libraries. No. The internet almost always costs the individual money to access, unlike public libraries. That means the internet is less accessible to low income people. Also public libraries have evolved into one of the main ways that many people access the internet. It's foolish to advocate replacing public…

[deleted]

Re: The last thing libraries need is Silicon Valley “disruption.”

#153

Post by chrisseaton »

geebee wrote: post #12

I'm largely in agreement with this Vox piece, but I think there's much more to say in defense of libraries as well. I have a friend who found a red envelope with some money in it in a book that he'd checked out of the library. He figured it belonged to whoever had checked the book out earlier, so he went into the branch and mentioned it. They said that they could find out the last person to read the book, but no more…

> Could be that I'm from an older generation, but there was a time when people considered the idea of an institution having a long and complete list of everything you've read more than creepy, it was terrifying.

I think younger people are just in general more relaxed about privacy.

Re: The last thing libraries need is Silicon Valley “disruption.”

#154

Post by andrepd »

frgtpsswrdlame wrote: post #15

So Forbes takes the op-ed down and says: “Forbes advocates spirited dialogue on a range of topics, including those that often take a contrarian view,” a Forbes spokesperson says in a statement. “Libraries play an important role in our society. This article was outside of this contributor’s specific area of expertise, and has since been removed.” [0] Forbes op-ed's are filled to the brim with people speculating about…

In other words, private company does the right thing only insofar as the negative publicity would hurt its bottom line. Nothing to see here.

Re: The last thing libraries need is Silicon Valley “disruption.”

#155

Post by ghostly_s »

toastercat wrote: post #94
geebee wrote: post #12

I'm largely in agreement with this Vox piece, but I think there's much more to say in defense of libraries as well. I have a friend who found a red envelope with some money in it in a book that he'd checked out of the library. He figured it belonged to whoever had checked the book out earlier, so he went into the branch and mentioned it. They said that they could find out the last person to read the book, but no more…

Libraries are public institutions funded by tax payers and mainly employ civil servants and government employees. It would be terribly ironic if a public institution did not abide by the law or respect your rights. Not to mention they do not exist for profit.

> It would be terribly ironic if a public institution did not abide by the law or respect your rights.

LOL. Have you been to America?

Re: The last thing libraries need is Silicon Valley “disruption.”

#156

Post by s73v3r_ »

JTbane wrote: post #52
ryandrake wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If libraries were invented today, that would be immediately killed by the copyright and retail lobbies.

It's funny to imagine publishers making the case against them- "You're gonna just let people borrow books for free!? How will I turn a profit?" It's also kind of sad that this logic is so prevalent with regards to software, films, music, etc.

Well, with regards to software, films, music, etc, lots of people work on those. Those people need to feed their families.

Re: The last thing libraries need is Silicon Valley “disruption.”

#157

Post by s73v3r_ »

darpa_escapee wrote: post #121
robrenaud wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For a librarian's salary, one could subsidize lots of internet for low income people.

Librarians do much more than look for and put books on shelves.

I wonder how many people saying, "We don't need libraries and librarians" don't get this. Probably all of them. Maybe if they were to shadow a librarian for a couple days, they'd be on the same page.

Re: The last thing libraries need is Silicon Valley “disruption.”

#158

Post by hnbroseph »

dbg31415 wrote: post #75

Hate the title. Something is either a good enough idea (or entrenched enough idea) to withstand disruption. Or it's not. If it's not... it sort of deserved to be replaced by something better. Libraries tend to be a good idea. That said... I haven't been to one in a decade. Not really sure what's changed in that time, hopefully they offer free wi-fi... and hopefully there aren't a row of creepy bums watching porn on t…

> replaced by something better

i'm skeptical that an instance of any given thing being replaced or "disrupted" (a terrible buzz word) necessarily implies that the new thing is "better". there tends to be a lot of factors in play.

Re: The last thing libraries need is Silicon Valley “disruption.”

#159

Post by nandhp »

ajross wrote: post #134
geebee wrote: post #12

I'm largely in agreement with this Vox piece, but I think there's much more to say in defense of libraries as well. I have a friend who found a red envelope with some money in it in a book that he'd checked out of the library. He figured it belonged to whoever had checked the book out earlier, so he went into the branch and mentioned it. They said that they could find out the last person to read the book, but no more…

> librarians (at least in that system) deliberately avoided keeping long term records of what people are reading, to safeguard privacy rights. Are you sure that's true? I mean, my local library (like most, I'm sure) has a fully digital checkout log which keeps a pretty decent amount of state for active records. A pretty reasonable architecture, given the size (small) of the system, would simply keep this data around…

The American Library Association specifically discourages the behavior of your local library:

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/privacy/guidelines/library-manag...

> For example, if the LMS offers the ability to save the checkout history, this should be an opt-in feature not turned on as a default.

The policy also recommends libraries minimize collection of data in general, use HTTPS whenever possible, and maintain a warrant canary.

See also: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/privacy/FAQ

Re: The last thing libraries need is Silicon Valley “disruption.”

#160

Post by wu-ikkyu »

peter_vukovic wrote: post #13

Why would anyone put Amazon and a library in the same sentence is beyond me, let alone contrast and compare them then argue against libraries. The Forbes editorial in question should be publicly displayed in all libraries as an example of poor judgment and lack of civility. Bizzare.

Sounds like sponsored content.
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