Anyone who has visited the New York Public Archive understands the most basic elements of what is impressive about it. When you walk in, you feel both grand and small. This is a magnificent edifice dedicated to knowledge, ideas, culture, and creativity, which are all-as Maria notes-limitless. The article will discuss the issue an ode to Library San Diego public institutions.
Yes, it is true, many countries now have their version of online libraries and book sharing campaigns, like the UK, USA, Germany, Canada, Japan, India, Philippines and many more. The concept of sharing and borrowing books via the internet has been around for years and only recently has been modified and made better by the establishment of private and public bookstores that rent their books out for readers.
I'm sure one of them was there to read poetry or look at old maps, and I'm equally sure that someone was there just because she had no place else to go. Perhaps someone is on the verge of curing cancer or writing their first novel. Each one was in their universe of thought, of ideas, of creation. In the international development community, when we talk about participatory or community-based development, I'm not sure why libraries aren't at the tip of our tongues.
They are the ultimate expression of people defining and meeting their own needs. New York Public Archive was built with private money, and it is primarily maintained with private funds, as are many libraries in this country. Team Maria's Libraries has had the conversation about private donations many times, including doing a two-month research project on it this summer.
There is no doubt that online libraries, which have vast collections of traditional books, literature, novels, educational textbooks, tutorial books, children's books, guide references and many more, exist to help; and help the youth, it does. Reading should not be exclusive to people who can afford to buy books. Settling with what the local public archive has, should not be the only alternative for those who can't afford to buy new books.
As you might expect, the NYPL is very different now than it was when it opened. It was one of the first libraries to digitize its catalog, maintaining a wall of books filled with the old cards, for preservation purposes. We saw books being moved off-site, as the archive relocates much of its collection to a warehouse in New Jersey. The books will still be available, but they will have to be transported from the store upon request.
Of course, the NYPL has not abandoned the book. But this story does give rise to an interesting problem that libraries face. Although the archive is a public institution, people's relationship with it is intensely personal. The archive is thus in a tricky place, it has to both continually innovate to be at the cutting edge, but it is also the vanguard of our shared culture, which can spill over into nostalgia.
We have yet to identify our local patron (if anyone reading this is the Brooke Astor of Western Kenya, email me!), and determining what is needed in the full archive collection is not even on the table yet. This process is slow and sometimes feels like a series of hurdles. And this it will continue to be, for as long as the archive is around.
Yes, it is true, many countries now have their version of online libraries and book sharing campaigns, like the UK, USA, Germany, Canada, Japan, India, Philippines and many more. The concept of sharing and borrowing books via the internet has been around for years and only recently has been modified and made better by the establishment of private and public bookstores that rent their books out for readers.
I'm sure one of them was there to read poetry or look at old maps, and I'm equally sure that someone was there just because she had no place else to go. Perhaps someone is on the verge of curing cancer or writing their first novel. Each one was in their universe of thought, of ideas, of creation. In the international development community, when we talk about participatory or community-based development, I'm not sure why libraries aren't at the tip of our tongues.
They are the ultimate expression of people defining and meeting their own needs. New York Public Archive was built with private money, and it is primarily maintained with private funds, as are many libraries in this country. Team Maria's Libraries has had the conversation about private donations many times, including doing a two-month research project on it this summer.
There is no doubt that online libraries, which have vast collections of traditional books, literature, novels, educational textbooks, tutorial books, children's books, guide references and many more, exist to help; and help the youth, it does. Reading should not be exclusive to people who can afford to buy books. Settling with what the local public archive has, should not be the only alternative for those who can't afford to buy new books.
As you might expect, the NYPL is very different now than it was when it opened. It was one of the first libraries to digitize its catalog, maintaining a wall of books filled with the old cards, for preservation purposes. We saw books being moved off-site, as the archive relocates much of its collection to a warehouse in New Jersey. The books will still be available, but they will have to be transported from the store upon request.
Of course, the NYPL has not abandoned the book. But this story does give rise to an interesting problem that libraries face. Although the archive is a public institution, people's relationship with it is intensely personal. The archive is thus in a tricky place, it has to both continually innovate to be at the cutting edge, but it is also the vanguard of our shared culture, which can spill over into nostalgia.
We have yet to identify our local patron (if anyone reading this is the Brooke Astor of Western Kenya, email me!), and determining what is needed in the full archive collection is not even on the table yet. This process is slow and sometimes feels like a series of hurdles. And this it will continue to be, for as long as the archive is around.
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