Piece in Forbes magazine said libraries ‘don’t have the same value they used to’ and cost taxpayers too much
Librarians are in uproar after an article in Forbes magazine proposed replacing all public libraries in the US with Amazon bookstores.
Panos Mourdoukoutas, a professor of economics at LIU Post in New York, wrote for Forbes that libraries “don’t have the same value they used to” and should be replaced permanently by Amazon book shops.
Related: George Washington's hair found tucked in old book in New York library
My Los Angeles Public Library card allows me access to all you mentioned and more. Today we offered a genealogy workshop, indigenous writers conference, puppet show, tai chi class and travel craft in one location. My cost in taxes? 37 CENTS.
Abraham Lincoln educated himself at a library. So did Malcolm X. Scientists, historians, researchers of all types depend on libraries. Compared to the funding that libraries receive, the payoff they provide is huge. You can't know which kid will go on to change the world. /end
Cost to individually buy the six books I have on hold this week: $70
Amount the Altadena Library Special Parcel Tax cost me this week: 75¢
Someone help me budget this, I'm not the chair of an economics department.
Maybe @Forbes doesn’t like that you can download their magazine free with your #SF library card. https://t.co/vqQk1BDMZE
Visit your local library for one day. Sit and watch who comes in to use the services — it’s not just people checking out free books. It’s one of few places in our society where the underserved can be treated with dignity and respect. It’s WiFi. It’s translators. It’s kindness.
You know what I have done in a library? Received free advice on starting a small business. Learned how to use a 3d printer. Attended a coding group. (Actually been to various types of group meetings.) Gone to various talks. Taught people to knit.
Another thing re the Forbes article on libraries: I learned to program computers from a book at my local library in Minnesota. My high school didn't have a CS class (or computers, really). Ended up with a BS and PhD in CS and 9 years at Google, all because of my local library.
Library. A room, set of rooms, or building where books may be read or borrowed.
E.g. A Forbes writer says Amazon should replace the local library. https://t.co/MkLwScxdAR https://t.co/mEaof5AGUs
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