A Point of View: What happens when a library falls silent

[Ranald]

Hi,, I would be interested in comments, after you have viewed the following link in today's BBC pages.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-27795832

Have look at some of the comments, at the end of the article.

Take your time....

Ranald

[Glesgalass]

Re: A Point of View: What happens when a library falls silent

It's a sign of the times Ranald. More and more is being read online. I have an e-book and I download books free of charge from my local library. I read too many and could not possibly afford to buy them. I have learned that you need to find out which brand of e-books your library supports and which brand allows you to download from your local library i.e. with the Kindle brand you can't download books from libraries outside of the USA......a big mistake on their part, I'd say.

It's just a pity that closing libraries penalises those without a computer.

Elda

[Alastair]

Re: A Point of View: What happens when a library falls silent

To me the current electronic books are far better. You've no idea how many authors want me to promote their books and they all say that until you get known and have a following it's harder to promote your book than it was to write it. There are lot of authors trying to get a publisher to take on their book but that's more so they can benefit from the publishers promotional tools.

Today you can self publish on Kindle and other e-book formats. Yes some effort is required to work out how to do it but no cost to you. No publishing cost and no production costs.

I have several books on the web site that have never been published. I have 800 children's stories for you to read that have never been published. So you might say that our choice has been improved due to electronic publishing.

For me personally I find it easier to read books on my Kindle.

Anyway... that's my feedback.

Alastair

[albalad]

Re: A Point of View: What happens when a library falls silent

I agree that this is a serious problem. The price of new books in this country seems exorbitantly high - usually from $30 - $40, which puts them well beyond the reach of lower income families, and even with discounted paperbacks there's nothing worthwhile much under $10. E-books don't help, because usually thee people can't afford a computer, as Elda points out.
Most of these people live in rural areas with no ready access to the city library - this is where the Country library Service is invaluable, but it won't be long before they cut down their operations due to rising costs.
Second-hand bookshops used to be a great source of inexpensive reading material, but now they're all closing down their shops and dealing on the internet, so lower income folk loose out yet again.
It's not so much that the money isn't there. There always seem to be vast sums available when it comes to building a new sports stadium, or buying sports equipment and funding overseas tours for sporting teams - just not for libraries.
I think it's well past time the priorities were sorted out.