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Originally Posted by hfx_chris
Why do you have a problem with the role of the library changing with the times? Other institutions are allowed to evolve to meet the needs of their users and the public at large, why is the library supposed to stay stagnant? To you, and I've said this before, it seems a library should be a room full of books and nothing more, but whether you like it or not the library system around here hasn't been like that for at least 10-15 years, the range of services is much broader than it was 30 years ago, and it will continue to broaden to meet the needs of the population.
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There is a way to do that, and that is to come forward with an operating budget and staffing proposal. You don't o it by getting a new facility built and then saying "Ooops, we need a 50% budget increase now!" Pay up!"
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I think they probably realize their staffing needs will be increased, they're not stupid.
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Then they need to identify that as part of the proposal. They have not done so.
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Besides, it's not like they hire people whose sole job it is to setup and clean meeting rooms.
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Wanna bet? If you have a bunch of meeting rooms and an auditorium there is going to have to be a few people devoted just to the need to keep them operating. You ever been in a facility with several meeting rooms? Ever notice how people leave water bottles, papers, etc behind? They quickly become a pig sty if not kept up by someone.
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Libraries have been offering DVDs for the last, jeez almost 10 years now? And before that you could borrow VHS tapes for the longest time, plus music CDs and audio cassettes, books on tape, materials for the visually impaired, etc. Multimedia isn't something new in the last couple of years.
Besides, you pay money to rent or buy DVDs down the road, you don't pay any money to borrow a DVD from the library. Given the huge popularity and the number of DVD returns we processed on any given day of the week, the demand is definitely out there.
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Sure it is, because you are offering the same thing for free that I can rent at Blockbuster or wherever. I'm not arguing against multimedia. And I'm certainly not arguing against audio availability, so let's forget about CDs in this. The library should have the type of DVDs available that are generally not available or hard to find at the rental places. Educational, instructional, cultural, etc. But should they have copies of Seinfeld or Cloverfield or any other sort of mindless pop culture entertainment when the place down the street does the same thing? I think not. Sure it is nice to have that. So are the other things people said they wanted in the report: free parking, free day care, free courses on languages and other areas. But all of those things are already available elsewhere. You just have to buy them. Why should the library be offering them -- not for free, but paid for with taxpayer dollars? The question is, you need to set some limits or otherwise the thing quickly gets way too expensive. The demand for anything "free" quickly becomes infinite. I see few limits in this proposal, and hence a frightening cost number down the road.