Absolutely there are more affluent sections of society for whom cheap books and DVDs are easier and quicker than a visit to the local library, but surely part of the point of a library is to open access to reading to all of society, not just those who have the means and inclination to buy? My local library in South London (for which I do have a membership card, and did have a concentrated spell of taking out books a couple of years ago) covers an area with a wide variety of people living in it, and I think it’s important to have books – and therefore the potential for learning a love of reading – available to everyone.
On another note, the (non-lending) reference section of the library can be very handy indeed – which also has photocopying facilities and even short bursts of free internet connection too.
]]>On another note the library service is not all bad. A couple of years ago I noticed that Camden had 2 videos of Buffy the Vampire Slayer out of the possible 5 seasons available at the time. I suggested they buy the lot and a few weeks later they did. The only problem was by then I’d found a website that sold the DVDs cheaply….
]]>Particulartly interesting is their IP Manifesto:
http://www.bl.uk/news/pdf/ipmanifesto.pdf
One of my regular trawls for certain terms turned up this post by Kate Hyde. The post is interesting in itself, and was worth following through to read. Possibly more interesting, though, was the whole premise behind the blog…
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