Libraries in the News

LIBERAL WHINGERS ARE WRONG-WE SHOULD SHUT OUR LIBRARIES
1) I lasted visited the library on Monday (March 26,2012).
2) McTernan's debate: Reasons why he thinks we should close down libraries:
 - People rarely go to the library to find information any longer as technology began to advance.
 - Protesters are only protesting out of guilt and condescension.
 - Students no longer need to go to the library to study. They can just do that at home or at the school library.


LIBRARIES HAVE THRIVED DESPITE TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS
1) Proof libraries are relevant today. Wong's reasons:
 - Libraries provide information that are hard to find on the Internet
 - Libraries provide information that may only be available to individuals for a fee when they look for it on the Internet
 - Libraries provide individuals with Internet access for people who do not have Internet at home
 - Help is given to individuals by Librarians
 - Libraries provide various programs for the community (ex. Conversation Circles, Homework help, Career Counselling, Reading programs)
2) Library Services:
 - Reading Programs          - Career Counselling
 - Conversation Circles      - Homework Help
3) I think what Wong meant when she said "Libraries are one of society's great equalizers" is that libraries is a place that gives people all equal rights. It does not matter if a person is poor or rich, smart or educationally challenged, people are all treated the same way in the library. The library is a place where people are be treated the same way as everybody else and no individual is judged.


LIBRARIES SHOULD REMAIN OPEN

Public libraries should not be shut down. The library is not just "an honorable tradition" and it is most definitely not over. McTernan's argues that since people rarely go to the library anymore because most information can be found on the Internet and that students no longer need to go to the library to study and do homework, public libraries should be closed down. My response to his reasons can be summed down into two words, "absolute stupidity." He may say that "with Abebooks and Alibris, almost all the second-hand bookshops in the world are available to search" and enables people to find the books they want without having to go to the library. But why would a person want to go to websites like Abebooks and Alibris and buy books instead of just going to the library and save some money? Buying books online is practically like dumping your money into the ocean since books bought online are mostly only going to read once. And while the statement that "fast, cheap computing had spread to most homes, and to our whizzy new mobile phones" may be true but what about the people that does not have access to these things due to money problems. It seems like McTernan only cares about the people that can afford these luxuries and completely ignored the people that cannot. Besides, not all the information on the Internet can be trusted. Take Wikipedia for an example. Wikipedia is a useful site which covers several subjects but the information posted can be written by anybody with a Wikipedia account. Therefore, these information cannot always be trusted. In the end, no matter what McTernan say, public libraries should not be closed down.