Libraries In Today's World

[k_nitin_r 8]

Hi!Libraries have traditionally been a place where one could visit and find lots and lots of manuscripts and books that were carefully preserved. Every book or periodical in the library had three sets of cards created. Periodicals often had indexes that were published. These indexes contained information that could be used to look up the topic of an article from a journal or other periodical and had a reference to the author name, title of the periodical, the volume and issue number, the start and end page number of the article, and the date of the article. The journal/periodical indexes took up large aisles of the library and were the first place to look when one needed to find any information. Using these details, one would find the section of the library that holds the volumes and issues of that particular periodical, find the book within the section and the article within the book. If you've played Monkey Island (I can't remember which one, but I think it is the second game in the series), you are probably familiar with the concept of a card catalog that we had in libraries for finding books. Books within a library are organization according to either the Dewey decimal classification system, which has the book catalog indicates where a book is located according to the 10-discipline numerical classification system, or the Library of Congress classification system, which is commonly used at universities and follows an alphabetical system of classification). The classification system often helps researchers find related content by looking up other books that are available in the same section of the library as the referenced book.Libraries have come a long way since they were in earlier times. Present day libraries arrange material by subject or departments. This form of arrangement can also be found in large book stores, such as Barnes and Nobles. Often researchers from a particular discipline have to access information from other departments or subject areas due to the interdisciplinary nature of much of the research today. University programs have also been created around interdisciplinary research, such as biomedical engineering, mechatronic engineering, molecular biology, cybernetics, radiology, and bioinformatics.The development of the Internet created a revolution in the field of information organization and library sciences and have enabled individuals to search for books and periodicals from the library using a library database and find the exact aisle and shelf that the book is located on. Books and periodicals that are not stored in the library have electronic versions that can be searched for in online databases or can be loaned from other libraries. Thus, libraries provide access to huge records of information that represent the accumulated knowledge from over the years. Libraries also often carry DVDs/CDs that you can borrow, just as you would borrow a book.The availability of information over the Internet and the reasonably-priced broadband connectivity solutions have enabled individuals to access information without ever having to visit a library. Newspapers and magazines maintain online archives, blogs and social media post content online within a few hours of their occurrence and have searchable content archived and easily accessible. Social bookmarking websites make it easy and simple to discover content.For many people today, privately-run libraries are just a cheaper means of gaining access to novels, comic books, newspapers, and self-development books. Public libraries continue to maintain their collection of books while providing Internet-access kiosks for people who do not have access to computers and the Internet. The reduced role of the library and the focus on providing services similar to that of an Internet cafe may seem like a sign of the death of libraries. After all. what can libraries do to stay competitive other than doubling-up to provide other services - bundling together book lending, book sales, internet cafes, and coffee shops.

[H.O.D 0]

I remember my first visit to a library. I was simply stunned by the number of books available there. You could say I was spoilt for choice. I think even a person who doesn't read many books is stunned by a first visit to a library and would like to read some books right away! Then the general feeling that libraries are only for bookworms sets in, and most people shy away from them eventually. Now coming to libraries in today's world, the few remaining fans of libraries are attracted by what the internet offers and this is yet another threat to the already diminishing libraries. While it's true that falling broadband costs and free access to a lot of information is helping people find what they're looking for easily, it's important that we take care of our libraries as well. Agreed that no one has much time today, but people used to find time to visit libraries in the past and it is still very much possible today also. We just have to be genuinely interested and visit the good ol' places.

[kleong 0]

Remember the experience I first had in the library, I was intimidated. It was rows and rows of books. And in the air, you can smell the scent of paper. Looking for books then was a tedious experience. Back then, there wasn't any computer for me to search the title I want. I have to go through the rows to search for the relevant books. Either that or the oh-so-unfriendly librarian. It did not left a pleasant taste in my mouth. I quited going to the library till I was older. Then, it was the research for a school project that make me step back into the library. This were better. Computer are installed. Searching is much of a breeze. The librarian, well, I didn't need one anymore.

[k_nitin_r 8]

Hi!@HODDuring my last visit to a library a few years ago, I saw the other patrons borrowed cook books, novels, and self-development books. The books don't really convey a very bookworm-ism image.I can't really think of what libraries could do to stay competitive and relevant in today's world, but here's a thought. Each time I find something on the Internet that I find interesting, I print it for later reference. After we're done with the printouts, if we could return the printed pages to the library for someone else to use it, libraries could help work toward environmental conservation. Besides, saving printer ink could be a good motivation for individuals to check with their local libraries for a paper-based copy of the article or book to borrow.@kleongBefore I figured out how the computer-based book catalog worked, I would simply walk over to the section of the library that had books of interest to me, and I would browse through their collection of books. I discovered a lot of interesting books that way, but later as I had less and less time to find material for assignments, I decided to use the computerized book catalog to direct me to the exact aisle and shelf where the book I need is located and I just get a peek of some other books on that shelf while I collect the material I need for assignments.When I visit the library to pick up books that are in no way related to my assignments, which was a couple of years ago, I frequent the same aisles where I found books from previously but never had the time to read the books that caught my attention.

[DodgyPhil 1]

One point; a large proportion of information on the internet is b-llocks. Having a book published by a large publishing company, and not having the ability to remain anonymous ensures that more often than not the information is true.It's hard to say what can provide more valuable knowledge. Me and my classmates always sneer when a teacher suggests we research a topic in the library as we all know that Wikipedia is going to be our only source. With that said, people publishing books often spend a lot more time researching their topic and are far more focused and coherent than any Wikipedia editor (who, from my experience are illiterate a bloody annoying).People always claim to 'surf the net', but you never truly go down undiscovered paths, you just follow a series of related links. In a library you have the opportunity to browse through a vast catalogue of books without a starting point; just go to a shelf in the 'general knowledge' section and you're met with a wall of true and concise information.Libraries can't survive in our modern world, but it's our duty to allow them to. Our governments (British and USA regardless) pour a lot of funds into organisations which are non-sustainable and non-profit, and the library is probably a key example of both. If the British government has the funds to pay the European Union ?40,000,000 a day (sorry, this is turning into an anti-Europe rant) for nothing, surely they can't strive for a better society with access to free information.Also, people claim that it's easy to get cheap broadband, but I have quite a few friends who either cannot afford or are in the wrong location to receive any kind of internet connection. These same friends spend many hours visiting libraries for data and quotes to use in their coursework and always seem a bit more study-centric, having to make a real effort to go and get the knowledge that always seems to pay off. Libraries are non-discriminate and affordable to literally anyone (unless they can't afford a 13p late charge).Anyway, I think we should definitely keep libraries open- not just for the nostalgia and the dream-like atmosphere people are talking about- but for serious benefits to everyone.

[kagerioshu 0]

I have no official stance as to what should be done with libraries, but it's my personal opinion that they remain an element of our society and culture. I've always enjoyed going to the library (and still do -- monthly), and well, I can never imagine a situation where a library does not exist, either due to obsolescence or lack of interest. Even with the internet growing everyday and taking up a larger aspect of information gathering and research, I still believe that libraries hold the key to objective, authentic information on the local level that just can't be preserved or guaranteed on a world-wide, dynamic, open-ended basis. For instance, when was the last time you could investigate all the newspapers and local publications for your town, city, etc. on the internet? Not every community has that luxury and for those that do the efforts are still immature. This is exactly what local libraries do and they manage that task very well.Of course, another great aspect of libraries is simply the wealth of random books they contain. I think everyone should spent at least a couple of hours at the library a month, casually browsing the selection. I'm very certain that if people did this they'd be surprised at the amount of literature that piques their interest, whether it be theoretical science paperbacks or fantasy fiction, biographies to philosophy, or anything in-between. This is how I found so many of my favorite books and reading material.Of course, libraries need to improve in many ways -- or simply can't manage some aspects of our growing information age. The most basic example I can think of is instructional material for computer science or programming. Basically, if you go to almost any library you'll find an enormous amount of reading material dedicated to computers. The problem is though, that almost all of it is woefully out-of-date or just plain obsolete. What you end up with is piles of books that simply have no relation to the things that matter in today's world. I'm talking stuff like books on how to deal with Photoshop 4.0, how to make the transition to html 4.0 for the 21st century, etc..Of course, there are still many extremely valuable books that can be found on this subject that hardly lose their value. At my local library in this quiet town I live in, you can find huge tombs on C++, the art of using Adobe Flash successfully (published 2008), and many other things that still offer a great way to understand subjects that are very relevant.All in all, I think that libraries won't lose their value if we understand just what they do best and how to respect them for the preservation of knowledge and information and the distribution of literature they offer both to local communities and to the greater world at large.

[H.O.D 0]

People keep talking about using ebooks for "saving paper". Well that is really silly. We waste lots of paper and trees all the time. There are many other departments where we can save paper and also trees. Books have proved how valuable they can be so with the silly excuse of "saving paper" I don't think we should stop using books and in that way, libraries.@nitin: yes going to libraries doesn't mean you are a bookworm, but sadly that seems to be the general opinion around the world. Anyone who visits a library regularly is bound to be made fun of by at least one of the people he/she knows. That is the sad reality we are living in. There are a lot of people who love books, but there are even more number of people who do not :angel: I think that is why libraries are slowly losing their popularity daily. The people who love visiting libraries stop going there just to retain their popularity image. Unless we turn around this concept we can't persuade many people to visit libraries regularly.

[sheepdog 10]

I am glad to see a fair amount of support for libraries here. I frequent our local library quite often. I do enjoy reading. Sitting in a chair in front of a computer screen can get tiresome, and you can't kick back on the couch with it and read in comfort. And in the event of a power failure, or computer crash, computerized reading material is not much help. You can read by candle or Coleman lanturn light. Many libraries also have internet access computers for people who cannot otherwise afford them, so they are a big help there. I know if my own computer crashes, I can if need be, check my email and important places like Trap 17. There is also that special "feel" of the library. The calm and quiet of the place can be refreshing and can set the stage for some serious thinking when studying is the goal, or a break from the hassels of every day life if you are dropping in for a bit of pleasure reading. Either one is a big bennefit. Our local library has a couple easy chairs, soft and comfortable, in one of the back rooms, I normally just grab books and head home, but the other day hubby had some errands to run in town and I wanted to get a new book to read, so I just hung out at the library while he did his thing. Even though I was only there 30 minutes or so, I really felt relaxed and content from the peaseful time relaxing there with a book. Nice to be somewhere where I can't hear the phone ringing or dog barking!