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by ceejayoz 2494 days ago
Sure, and that's what a lot of smart libraries are evolving towards.

One of ours locally has a tool library and 3D printing, which I think is awesome. Performance spaces for poetry, music, etc.

1 comments

I like physical books as much as the next person. And providing access to and/or lending out physical books, journals, references, etc. is certainly an important library function. But, at the same time, it's important not to fetishize the value of a library as being defined by how much dead tree storage it has.
Absolutely true but it's important to make sure that if the library does have a rich collection of works they're all properly catalogued, sorted, easy to access, and easy to check out. If you already have the books available, make sure you're giving people a chance to check them out. Sure, most might go to the library for events and hangouts but some might be happy to borrow a novel or a scientific text. It's about resource usage.
Whoa there, bibliophilia is a fetish now? Should I feel naughty? I do feel pleasure when I go to a library and see all the books on the shelves.