Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Bezos should put his billions in public libraries

wired.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

231–240 of 250 posts

Re: Bezos should put his billions in public libraries

#231

Post by MR4D »

Blackthorn wrote: post #87
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…

> 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. And you would be wrong. My local library is considered one of the best small-town libraries in the nation (I believe at one point it literally won an award for being the best) -- and does not have a certified librarian in a hea…

No, he would be right.

Source: https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2014/07/do-librarians-need-a...

Re: Bezos should put his billions in public libraries

#233

Post by simonebrunozzi »

If I were a Billionaire like Bezos, and read this article, I would think: "it's my money. You can be as sure as hell that the last thing I will do is to put it in public libraries".

Seriously. Since when we pick someone else's pocket and decide what to do with his money?

Re: Bezos should put his billions in public libraries

#234

Post by ashark »

dionidium wrote: post #97
jjtheblunt wrote: post #91

Should is a pretty insulting verb: who is to presume the wisdom to tell another what to do?

There's a tendency in some to add a bunch of hedge words to statements like this. "Humbly, I think -- and this is just my opinion -- that Jeff Bezos may want to -- I mean, it's up to him, but if he wants to! -- consider putting his money into libraries." This is a misguided pursuit of modesty. It's less clear and reads as false, anyway. Just say what you mean. We all know it's just your opinion without all the weasel…

> Just say what you mean. We all know it's just your opinion without all the weasel words. Nobody is going to mistake it for anything else.

People on the Web will. They hate succinct, accurate, clear (so, good) writing and will settle for nothing short of explicitly disavowing association with or endorsement of any conceivable evil with which an intentional/incompetent misreading of your words could possibly connect you, absurdly hedging and qualifying every statement as if attempting to make a favorable wish with a hostile genie, and burying all opinions in wishy-washy garbage.

Re: Bezos should put his billions in public libraries

#235

Post by greeneggs »

jjtheblunt wrote: post #91

Should is a pretty insulting verb: who is to presume the wisdom to tell another what to do?

Bezos himself asked for advice. Here's the tweet:

https://twitter.com/JeffBezos/status/875418348598603776/

A news story: "Jeff Bezos Wants Ideas for Philanthropy, So He Asked Twitter"

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/15/technology/jeff-bezos-ama...

Re: Bezos should put his billions in public libraries

#236

Post by Blackthorn »

MR4D wrote: post #231
Blackthorn wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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. And you would be wrong. My local library is considered one of the best small-town libraries in the nation (I believe at one point it literally won an award for being the best) -- and does not have a certified librarian in a hea…

No, he would be right. Source: https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2014/07/do-librarians-need-a...

Libraries do not all follow those rules. The existence of my local library, as I discussed, shows that.

Re: Bezos should put his billions in public libraries

#237

Post by tryingagainbro »

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…

Bezos doesn't have enough money for that...as much as he has. It will be drained in a very few years IMO.

He could support archive.org to scan all the books for free, or just buy the scans from Google (if they sell them). Of course make that free for all. Eventually almost everyone will have a $50 Android, use some sort of wifi and there's your library.

Re: Bezos should put his billions in public libraries

#238

Post by Tomte »

simonebrunozzi wrote: post #233

If I were a Billionaire like Bezos, and read this article, I would think: "it's my money. You can be as sure as hell that the last thing I will do is to put it in public libraries". Seriously. Since when we pick someone else's pocket and decide what to do with his money?

Since Bezos specifically asked for ideas about how to spend his money philantrophically.

As you would know, had you at least skimmed the article before summarily dismissing it.

Re: Bezos should put his billions in public libraries

#239

Post by alt_f4 »

No offense to the author, but what a tremendously stupid idea.

With technology becoming cheaper and cheaper, right now, you can get a good enough computer to access all the world's information (the Internet) for $25. I can imagine that price being more like $5 in the next 10 years.

Since the goal of investing is planning for the future, it'd be an enormous waste to spend all of that money on the antiquated concept of a library. It will be about as useful as investing the money in VHS tapes.

Better education-related goals for billionaires: make more of the copyrighted information available for free public use. Help increase access to good quality internet and computers in poor communities.

Re: Bezos should put his billions in public libraries

#240

Post by alt_f4 »

songzme wrote: post #122

As much as I hate books, I love public libraries. Our local library (Northside branch santa clara) gives a big conference room every saturday to a team of passionate locals trying to teach themselves programming. My friends and I go there every Saturday to help people who are stuck and give them guidance (what to learn next, how to prepare for interviews, what language is best suitable for what they are trying to do,…

So, you don't like libraries, you like the idea of cheap to hire conference rooms.
Post reply on HN