This article from Jezebel is just a complete mindf*ck for me: "California Library May Stop Stocking Books".
I'm sorry - SAY WHAT?!
This is just unacceptable to me. Since the time that I was little libraries have been this center of my love for the book - how can we take away that experience from other people?
From the article - "City Manager Dave Kiff remarked, "Shouldn't the modern library reflect what people are doing now, instead of reflecting what we might have done 20 or 30 years ago?"" Well how about we adapt in that we bring in more of a focus on the digital media that people are interested in without decimating everything libraries stand for?
What kind of places will libraries be with everyone sitting in their corners with their headsets glued to whatever the tube in front of them is showing? Libraries taught me to love books. Libraries allowed me to teach other people to love books. You know how that happens? By giving me the space and opportunity to talk to people. To recommend something. To bring someone to a section of books and show them how to browse and choose what's interesting to them.
How the hell is that going to happen at a 'library' where you can only get books through interlibrary loan?!
My heart hurts.
