Comments on: Public libraries – we lose them at our peril

By: gethoht

gethoht — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 13:26:12 +0000

The “democracy of the market” is a fallacy. A truly “free” unfettered market will always lead to an unfree market through consolidation and monopolization unless regulations are put in place. It has happened over and over and over again throughout history. The idea of a free market is a modern myth, not based on any great body of evidence but pushed through persistent cultural fallacies espoused by the capitalists and randians as an overreaction to the extremely socialistic policies of early 20th century Europe. Capitalists do not understand any idea of public ownership or social responsibility because such ideas are not directly equated to dollars and cents, which is their only moral compass. They are happy to drive on public roads, hike on public trails and sidewalks, chat on the internet (originally a government project) and talk about the wonders of the free market, completely ignoring the fact that just about every aspect of their life is in some way greatly benefited by public infrastructure. The good that public institutions like libraries give us all is something a market can never account for. You canmot quantify culture and ideas and the greater effect they have on us all as human beings.

The greatest aspects of humanity itself are intangible. Love, family, friendship, curiosity and culture are beyond any market.

By: Michelle Fire Eater

Michelle Fire Eater — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:05:39 +0000

And library districts will pop up, too. I think Gilpinites are the sort to support such a levy should it become an issue. Libraries will have to change like the rest of us to meet the needs of the times and retain support, whether through taxation, donation, or a private model. And indeed they do. Like the gentleman above, I have not checked out a book from a library in a precious long time, but I use our library in other ways, and know so many who benefit greatly, in ways that I would like to encourage in the community in which I live. I am open to ideas about the role our library would play in our community in changing times. One of those changes is attitudes about how government is used. It will need to be dealt with in any case, and will be a good test for our community to determine what it values. A library that can answer to concerns before they become an issue will fare better, but votes are the only true tally. We shall see.

By: CliffRosson

CliffRosson — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:56:21 +0000

"The United States is beginning an interesting experiment in democracy:" Or is it the contrary. Were the public schools and libraries the experiment? Is democracy itself a part of that experiment? I personally read more then anyone I know yet I have not set foot in a library since I attended GCHS. I average 10-20 books a year, many of which are rather large volume's and treatises. For me however It's a waste of my time and a waste of my tax dollars to support the current public library system. The internet has alleviated us of all types of inconveniences, libraries are just one of them. "But instead of putting such conscientious, economical and service-oriented professionals to work helping us, we’re handing them pink slips. " If such services were economical to begin with we wouldn't need to fund them via taxation and subsidization. If they were economical they would instead fund themselves via their own market success. Unfortunately they cannot be demonstrated which means people are not voluntarily willing to pay for such institutions. So the comment provided is somewhat paradoxical. If people wanted libraries they'd show up on their own in the market. And that is exactly what has happened.... http://www.borders.com/online/store/Home http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ The democracy of the market speaks bounds. People prefer these institutions to the archaic socialist programs of our past.