We Don’t Need No Library Fiction?
The Herald Scotland article will stay with me for a while. Following on from Deary, the writer questions the need for fiction books in libraries and questions what the point of stocking them is. For myself, I have always seen fiction as the sneaky way to improve people’s brains – one might be enjoying it but one is also learning spelling, grammar, incidental facts, all sorts of things at the same time. Fiction sucks (or suckers) the child into having a joy of reading and thus literacy and a degree and a good job. Fiction, also, saves those on the edges (and perhaps not just the edges) of society from madness, tedium or loneliness. To fail to understand the need for fiction in libraries shows a failure to understand its underlying benefits that bodes ill for the debate and for the failure of libraries (probably through no fault of their own – this should have been done nationally, for years) to explain their mission.
On the plus side, props to Devon for asking the public what it wants from a refurbishment of Sidmouth Library and, similarly, Los Angeles for asking the public what it wants from its libraries generally. The user needs to be fundamentally involved in the provision of services, most especially in any changes, and it’s great to see this being done.
News
- 7 Great quotes about libraries on photos of beautiful libraries – Daniel Dalton.
- 25 Writers on the Importance of Libraries – Flavorwire. In the aftermath of Deary’s comments, 25 writers who are keen advocates of public libraries are listed and quoted.
- Change is essential if libraries want to survive – Herald Scotland. “going into a library now is like going into HMV or Woolies just before it closed. It is a model that is confused and unclear; it no longer knows why it is there. And as for free downloadable books in libraries: like Kindles in Waterstones, that is like inviting a pussy cat into an aviary – the route to certain destruction from within.”. The leisure use of fiction, not learning, is the main purpose of public libraries.
“the discussion of the future of these institutions should be based on what they are, not on what supporters think they are. … [There] should be an end to the lending of fiction on the basis that public subsidy should be for the public good, not for whiling away a few hours with a cheap thriller. As for the other peripheral issues the pro-library campaign sometimes raise, such as access to the internet or literacy, there are more effective ways of dealing with these issues than paying for big buildings that cost big money to run.”
- Crowdsourced Design: Why Los Angeles Is Asking the Public to Create the Library of the Future – Good (USA). Asking th public what they want from the library? Now, there’s a thought.
- International radio star – Litopia / Library Campaign. Alan Gibbons and Library Campaign interviewed about what they think of Deary’s comments on an internet radio star. A wide ranging debate that lasts 45 minutes pitting two pro-library campaigners against two agnostics. Recommended. Need for libraries as a “safe place to go” comes across strongly as is the idea of it being a safety net, available for all.
“the repository is a logical extension to the role of a library. What ebooks have done for texts, 3D models will do for physical objects. In a digital form, they will be archived, shared and preserved. “You don’t know, a thousand years from now, how many of these objects will still be around,” he says. “These digital files might stand the test of time.” Michael Groenendyk finds a new use for 3D printers in libraries
- Making libraries history is a horrible idea – Guardian / Letters. More reaction to Deary: “Does he also believe the concept of a shared social fabric is outdated? Deary has mined a rich – and lucrative – seam in amusing millions of young readers with his tales of how disgusting, brutish and selfish we human beings have been across the ages. True enough. But the public funding of libraries, with access for everyone, reflects our imagination and striving to be better than brutes.” Beverley Naidoo.
- Protect and survive? Using the tools available to save library facilities – Community Knowledge Hub / David Alcock. Looks at using the “assets of community value” option under the Localism Act to safeguard libraries, and notes timing is crucial. Sometimes, council has already entered negotiations to sell before the public even knows the library is under threat.
“The message to community groups is clear. If you are at all worried about a local asset – whether a library or anything else – then don’t delay, apply to list it under the assets of community value legislation, to confer such protection it affords. Don’t wait, or it might just be too late.”
- This week… I’m enraged by Terry Deary’s comments about public libraries – Gazette. “I feel enraged particularly because he clearly has no idea just what is supplied by a modern library. Libraries have been trying hard to modernise their image, and we are lucky in Basingstoke to have a shining example of what they bring to a community.”
Changes
- Devon – Sidmouth consultation on major refurbishment.
- Sandwell – 29% cut in staff in last “few” years. Hours reduced in 2012. Less hours also expected in 2013.
Local news
- Brighton – Crime writer makes plea to keep Brighton and Hove mobile library – Argus. “Sussex-based crime author Peter James has called on town hall bosses to find the five-figure sum a year to keep it running three days a week.” … “after no voluntary groups came forward to help with running costs, the council proposed to replace it with a personalised door-to-door delivery service.”
- Devon – Have your say on major Sidmouth Library revamp – Sidmouth Herald. Consultation on what public wants from six-figure sum refurbishment.
- Middlesborough – Council backing national scheme to modernise libraries – Northern Echo. “offering “books on prescription” and reading groups as they join up to an initiative aimed at bringing libraries into the 21st century.”
- Newcastle – Lee Hall slams Newcastle Council’s failure to save the arts – Journal. “Playwright Lee Hall has said Newcastle Council’s revised £100m cuts package does not go far enough in attempts to offset the budget blow facing organisations across the city.” … “Two out of 10 closure-threatened libraries will be saved, with another three likely to be taken over by community groups”
- Sandwell – Councillors urged to oppose library cut – Express and Star. “Sandwell Federation of Library Friends and User Groups wants members to reduce cuts to a service which has made cuts of almost £880,000 in the past two years.”
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about 11 years ago
Re. Herald Scotland article, “writer questions the need for fiction books in libraries,” we learn (as teachers will quite happily enumerate for you) in many ways – stories are much more important to our culture than we mostly imagine.
Is everyone sitting comfortably \: Then we’ll begin, once upon a time… https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A2=ind1004&L=lis-pub-libs&P=R4116&1=lis-pub-libs&9=A&I=-3&J=on&d=No+Match%3BMatch%3BMatches&z=4
The Storytelling Animal: The Science of How We Came to Live and Breathe Stories
by Maria Popova
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/05/03/the-storytelling-animal-jonathan-gottschall/
Lots more here 🙂 http://previous.delicious.com/larkhill/Stories
about 11 years ago
Links to last comment cut’n’pasteable sizes (in order of appearance):
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