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Re: I'm guessing you must live in a larger city than my suburban (exurb?) town of 15K DomA Send a noteboard - 23/11/2013 06:17:03 PM

View original postThe local library is not typically a place in recent years where I've found a lot of the books that interest me

They appear to be another endangered species anyway (according to a recent US-Canadian study, the picture is bleak). Unless there's a major reversal of trends, small libraries are doomed to become extinct. Those that have been recently renovated or won't need to be for a few decades might endure longer, but there's already more and more opposition to awarding funds to libraries. Even now, the stats show that in many university libraries from 35 to up to 70% of purchases made since 1990 have never been borrowed, and it's higher still if you calculate only the 2005-2010 stats. Even Community libraries are more and more shifting toward making a majority of their acquisitions as digital books (and some are shifting to a "just in time" policy, buying a digital copy only if someone requests a book), which in time will make the brick and mortar library obsolete or at least make convincing communities and public organs to fund them or the preservation of their physical collections (often barely valuable, for small libraries, unlike Universities ones and such) harder and harder, when with far less money and resources you could offer a much wider range of digital services.

Anyway, it's what the stats show in Canada and the US at the moment. The richest universities are building themselves high tech facilities to preserve their collections while at the same time reaching 50, 60, 70, 80% of new purchases made in the digital format, but everywhere else libraries in schools, universities and communities are in very sharp decline and for some most of their business is already done through websites.


This message last edited by DomA on 23/11/2013 at 06:19:37 PM
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To whom do you turn when you want to learn more about new books? - 10/11/2013 06:17:07 AM 1405 Views
This is the only place. - 10/11/2013 04:26:22 PM 1123 Views
Maybe, but I'm a bit skeptical - 11/11/2013 12:14:36 AM 1060 Views
If you want to attract NEW readers, the site needs to be reworked from scratch - 13/11/2013 01:06:41 PM 986 Views
Preaching to the choir here - 14/11/2013 07:55:56 AM 1136 Views
Re: If you want to attract NEW readers, the site needs to be reworked from scratch - 21/11/2013 09:24:22 PM 1063 Views
That might be swimming upstream against a strong current - 22/11/2013 08:41:15 AM 1033 Views
Quite - 22/11/2013 03:34:50 PM 921 Views
io9 - 10/11/2013 07:32:41 PM 1345 Views
Locus Online also has good lists of upcoming/new SF/F releases - 11/11/2013 12:16:18 AM 1036 Views
The Economist, NYT, and WSJ - 11/11/2013 01:05:36 PM 997 Views
Very true - 14/11/2013 07:57:14 AM 1041 Views
I'm skeptical of the Economist. - 16/11/2013 05:02:47 PM 998 Views
Which books were those? - 19/11/2013 03:19:59 PM 1004 Views
There were at least four or five bad reviews. - 30/11/2013 05:41:45 PM 1004 Views
I remember reading that book. I don't recall being impressed by it. *NM* - 05/12/2013 03:37:59 PM 546 Views
I've essentially stopped reading - 11/11/2013 12:36:51 AM 1164 Views
I don't think very highly of the discussions on r/fantasy - 11/11/2013 08:25:54 AM 1179 Views
I've never even been to r/fantasy - 11/11/2013 08:31:11 AM 1015 Views
I'd say this place is still the most influential for me. - 11/11/2013 10:29:19 AM 1015 Views
For some odd reason, I distrust Goodreads - 14/11/2013 07:58:29 AM 1135 Views
"Distrust"? Interesting word choice. - 14/11/2013 09:32:35 PM 1121 Views
Call me old fashioned... - 11/11/2013 02:47:37 PM 967 Views
Old fashioned! - 14/11/2013 07:59:43 AM 1007 Views
I second that suggestion. - 14/11/2013 09:35:51 PM 933 Views
Re: I second that suggestion. - 16/11/2013 02:10:10 AM 838 Views
Here mostly, Goodreads, io9 - 11/11/2013 09:40:41 PM 1084 Views
Interesting - 14/11/2013 08:01:05 AM 964 Views
Typically new is "New to me" - 14/11/2013 08:36:09 AM 1219 Views
Ah, I understand a bit more now. Thanks. - 22/11/2013 08:50:26 AM 959 Views
Here mostly too. And bookshops over here. - 12/11/2013 06:54:05 PM 961 Views
I have list of things to read longer than I have time to read - 13/11/2013 05:39:59 PM 942 Views
So true - 14/11/2013 08:03:16 AM 974 Views
here, mostly, but i also have less time to read (sort of) and a lot to read... - 19/11/2013 03:49:15 PM 904 Views
Quick, cozy comfort zone reads, more or less? - 22/11/2013 08:52:37 AM 835 Views
It depends on what is happening at the time - 30/11/2013 12:15:55 AM 802 Views
I don't really care to learn about new books. - 21/11/2013 08:58:44 PM 956 Views
I'm guessing you must live in a larger city than my suburban (exurb?) town of 15K - 22/11/2013 08:54:58 AM 931 Views
Slightly larger - 22/11/2013 08:30:34 PM 967 Views
Re: I'm guessing you must live in a larger city than my suburban (exurb?) town of 15K - 23/11/2013 06:17:03 PM 1149 Views
I'm all BELE - 29/11/2013 07:12:03 PM 909 Views
Book recommendations can come from the oddest places... - 07/12/2013 04:36:26 AM 923 Views

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