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Bezos should put his billions in public libraries

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Re: Bezos should put his billions in public libraries

#221

Post by stretchwithme »

johnjhayes wrote: post #167
stillsut wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are MBA's who are also curious and interested in "going digital", "leveraging big data", etc. Left to initiate programs under these banners, and evaluate themselves I expect the MBA to perform sub-optimally. My point is not to disrespect MLS, in fact as even as a programmer, I'd probably be terrible as a head sys-admin/tech-support for a library too. I'm wondering why we've never heard of anyone making a good c…

>>I'm wondering why we've never heard of anyone making a good career move by setting up tech at a library Because they are underfunded, Bezos seems to be addressing that. >>kind of my point, no? No, the provided example seems to be counter to your point.

When you make something free for everybody, instead of just those with a financial need, it's going to be chronically underfunded. We're the richest country in the world, paying trillions in taxes, borrowing trillions more and advocates for every expenditure tell us more funds are needed.

If those with the means paid a fair price for the library resources they are sharing, a library could be open for many more, have better resources AND cost the taxpayer less.

Libraries weren't always free. Like the one Ben Franklin helped establish. These didn't cost the taxpayer anything. And if you wanted to help someone without the means, you would just pay for their membership.

http://www.benjamin-franklin-history.org/lending-library/

Re: Bezos should put his billions in public libraries

#222

Post by the_unknown »

soperj wrote: post #60
stillsut wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let me give you a hypothetical company IT department: while you are allowed to work there with any education background, only an MBA can be a manager. How do you think they would perform at IT tasks? Who runs libraries? People with Masters in Library Science. I expect severe budget and certification crises would come to any library that won't put a certified librarian in a head position. Or, I'm a working class guy a…

Libraries in Canada have the same stipulations, but are actually funded and are open all the time. Our downtown library is open 9am-9pm every day of the year.

Hm, I'm East of Toronto and thought my small town library was closed Sunday and Monday... just checked - no, open 7 days a week. Pleasantly surprised.

The small, small, small town north of here though is closed on Sunday.

Re: Bezos should put his billions in public libraries

#223

Post by pravinva »

reducesuffering wrote: post #11
mulmen wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does that have to do with his personal wealth? How is Bezos' situation different than Gates? e: to clarify my second question: How is Bezos' situation different than Gates' when Gates left Microsoft .

Because Amazons stock price is valued strongly based on future potential. For Bezos to cash out now and do philanthropy, without a very strong replacement to realize Amazons potential, shares would fall 50% effectively halving Bezos' worth. Regarding your second question, it is actually a similar scenario to when Gates left Microsoft. Right before Gates left, Microsoft was at one of the highest peak values, $58, almo…

All shares are valued solely based on their future potential (cash flows). It matters not a whit what you did in the past, if your future is bleak, you share price will reduce to under book value

Re: Bezos should put his billions in public libraries

#224

Post by chupapuma »

WalterBright wrote: post #206
KGIII wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best thing you can do is ask your librarian. Libraries are often poorly funded, very much so in rural areas. They are often partially funded with donations. Somebody was willing to step up and rehab a local library. Had they not done so, it would have been forced to close. It is staffed entirely by volunteers. The town can barely afford to budget the heat. Fortunately, the same person now donates regularly and th…

Around here, the library buildings are new, large, modern, and spacious. Those buildings were expensive to construct. They lack books, though. The shelves are low, widely spaced, and don't occupy much of the floor space. http://www.buildingwork.design/projects/kenmore-library/ I've long since given up even looking for books there. I just go buy them. Contrast this with Half Price Books: http://www.waymarking.com/gall…

The KCLS has a lot of books though and it is super easy to get them transported to the library for pickup. Also the eBook selection is immense.

Re: Bezos should put his billions in public libraries

#225

Post by qohen »

mixmastamyk wrote: post #141
SolaceQuantum wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every library I've been to in every town I've been to had Sunday hours. This includes New York City and its surrounding suburbs, Buffalo and its surrounding suburbs, several towns in Conneticut and several more in Toronto Canada and its surrounding suburbs. Even my university library has sunday hours.

In LA only the central library is open Sunday, for 4 or 5 hours.

While most of the 70+ branches are closed Sundays, there are some 8 or 9 that are open from 1-5 on Sundays. E.g. the branch on Robertson, a few blocks south of Pico.

The hours for all branches are on the following page; to find the ones open on Sunday, just search on the page for:

Sun: 1-5

https://www.lapl.org/branches

Also, the Beverly Hills Public Library -- which is, of course, not part of the LA library system -- is open 12 - 6 on the weekends:

https://roxbury.beverlyhills.org/

Re: Bezos should put his billions in public libraries

#226

Post by thaumasiotes »

graphitezepp wrote: post #15

I would much rather billionaire types take on large issues that governments don't want to touch, like space flight or specific diseases in foreign countries, than something already in service like libraries. Maybe I just have a bias due to having a library just up the street from where I live currently, but I have never not had access to an adequate library in my life time, and only see room for marginal diminishing…

> I would much rather billionaire types take on large issues that governments don't want to touch, like space flight or specific diseases in foreign countries

I have no idea what you're trying to express here, since space flight and disease are large issues that governments are really really interested in.

Re: Bezos should put his billions in public libraries

#227

Post by ue_ »

johnjhayes wrote: post #169
lnreddy wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Physical libraries seem so inefficient. Can't the same thing be accomplished at a fraction of the cost by distributing laptops with subscriptions to KhanAcademy etc ?

Consider extreme rural areas. I've lived most of my life in rural Alabama and libraries provide an essential resource for many. Giving these people a laptop and a subscription doesn't help much if they don't have a decent internet connection (or one at all).

Perhaps the internet connection could be funded in a similar way to libraries, then.

Re: Bezos should put his billions in public libraries

#228

Post by mobilefriendly »

monorepoman wrote: post #34
graphitezepp wrote: post #15

I would much rather billionaire types take on large issues that governments don't want to touch, like space flight or specific diseases in foreign countries, than something already in service like libraries. Maybe I just have a bias due to having a library just up the street from where I live currently, but I have never not had access to an adequate library in my life time, and only see room for marginal diminishing…

"The government" is virtually the only entity that has ever taken any interest in space flight. The cumulative government investment in space research, development, and operations is orders of magnitude higher than the the cumulative private investment, and even today in the supposed golden age of private spaceflight more than 80% of the money is coming from taxpayers.

And yet, with a small fraction of just one year of NASA's budget, look what SpaceX has accomplished.

Re: Bezos should put his billions in public libraries

#229

Post by peatmoss »

goialoq wrote: post #105
Chardok wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I completely agree. Where I lived at in Houston, trying to find a place to sit and study quietly was near impossible, which is something I certainly took for granted. Libraries provide so much public good: giving the public internet access, allowing people to read classics and better themselves for free, and giving some quiet space for those wanting to study (and not have to pay for a $5 coffee).

not paying for a $5 coffee hurts the official GDP metrics. Reading a book in a library contributes $0 to official GDP.

Directly speaking, that's right. Indirectly, the latter statement is, of course, false in that libraries provide the means for anyone in society to raise their station and thus contribute more to GDP.

But I think you're making a good point that others are missing: The most valuable things in society are often things that aren't easily measured by straightforward means.

Re: Bezos should put his billions in public libraries

#230

Post by losteric »

icebraining wrote: post #39
losteric wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

# rant: disagree with comments not votes! I disagree with that sentiment.. Are books a waste of money? In-person public speaking events? Museums? The internet is a global Library of Alexandria, but it's absurd to suggest we no longer need smaller repositories of knowledge or physical copies/originals... Especially as the internet is increasingly fractured, censured, monitored, and otherwise limited. They serve simila…

I think it's wrong, but it's not absurd . Let's argue, not shout down. It's true that the Internet is often fractured, censured, monitored, and otherwise limited, but the same can be said of libraries, unfortunately; an example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_Awareness_Program

Who's shouting down?

Online foreign counter-government literature can be globally censored by a national censoring, corporate-critical websites can be taken down by invalid copyright/trademark notices while books cannot be pulled without thorough vetting, and most websites out there slowly decay into dust - far faster than books.

My point is not that books and libraries are superior - it's that they are different from the internet, both tools convey knowledge with unique strengths and weaknesses. I do think it's absurd to simply write them off as "a waste of money", an irredeemable tool that was waiting to be made obsolete.

We will rebalance our usage just like we rebalanced radio after TV came out and TV after the internet - the end-state is a very interesting question, TBD whether books follow the path of vinyl or VCR, but I think "complete elimination" is the most improbable path.

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