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Why libraries are terrible.

Started by the_antithesis, July 08, 2013, 10:58:35 PM

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WitchSabrina

Quote from: "SilentFutility"I think that it is perhaps important to differentiate between public libraries and libraries designed to serve an educational or other specific purpose. I'd say that things like university libraries, for instance, are still not yet obsolete, as people need the library not only for access to information specific to their subjects, but also to use many other services and to have a place to work/study.

I think that public libraries still fulfill this function to an extent, as there are those who still visit them in order to have a place to work quietly, or to use their printers and scanners and classes etc. However, public libraries also perform another function, which is to give people access to media that they otherwise would not have at home. As broadband internet becomes more and more prevalent in all areas of society, the amount of media that a library can provide that people don't have instant access to at home will shrink.

It strikes me that the main point of the OP was that media is no longer some sort of "finite resource" (for lack of a better term), where people had access to it in moderation and were not exposed to information from a vast array of sources almost constantly. As soon as something becomes abundant, it stops being worth expending effort to obtain or even to use. Another interesting point raised is that people consume less media intentionally than they perhaps used to. In many ways, we consume so much media in our daily lives without trying to that we feel less of a need to seek more out in our own time. It used to be that watching television for a few hours in the evening would be your only exposure to something removed from your own immediate surroundings and environment. Now we are so bombarded with information about things from anything and everything, all the time. I don't want to know what happens to the protagonist in the last episode who was in danger, because there are a million channels, with a million protagonists in danger that ended on cliffhangers, I simply cannot care about all of the ones I could possibly be exposed to, so I care about none of them. We are exposed to so much that it is simply impossible to become emotionally invested in it all, or to care about all of it, which makes these things boring and they then do not hold nor warrant our attention.

Good point.  Good post.

and
thanks
I am currently experiencing life at several WTFs per hour.

Hydra009

Quote from: "SilentFutility"In many ways, we consume so much media in our daily lives without trying to that we feel less of a need to seek more out in our own time. It used to be that watching television for a few hours in the evening would be your only exposure to something removed from your own immediate surroundings and environment. Now we are so bombarded with information about things from anything and everything, all the time. I don't want to know what happens to the protagonist in the last episode who was in danger, because there are a million channels, with a million protagonists in danger that ended on cliffhangers, I simply cannot care about all of the ones I could possibly be exposed to, so I care about none of them. We are exposed to so much that it is simply impossible to become emotionally invested in it all, or to care about all of it, which makes these things boring and they then do not hold nor warrant our attention.
I've never really had that reaction.  I used to follow a few shows at a time.  And I still do.  Problem solved.

SilentFutility

Quote from: "Hydra009"
Quote from: "SilentFutility"In many ways, we consume so much media in our daily lives without trying to that we feel less of a need to seek more out in our own time. It used to be that watching television for a few hours in the evening would be your only exposure to something removed from your own immediate surroundings and environment. Now we are so bombarded with information about things from anything and everything, all the time. I don't want to know what happens to the protagonist in the last episode who was in danger, because there are a million channels, with a million protagonists in danger that ended on cliffhangers, I simply cannot care about all of the ones I could possibly be exposed to, so I care about none of them. We are exposed to so much that it is simply impossible to become emotionally invested in it all, or to care about all of it, which makes these things boring and they then do not hold nor warrant our attention.
I've never really had that reaction.  I used to follow a few shows at a time.  And I still do.  Problem solved.
Perhaps I've become cynical and apathetic and just don't enjoy things like that much anymore because of that then.

Fidel_Castronaut

Quote from: "Smartmarzipan"
Quote from: "the_antithesis"I do love all the people here who think this is about public libraries. They so cute.

Half the posters on this site either don't fucking read anything or have very poor reading comprehension.

You either get over it or it slowly drives you insane.

lol, marquee. HTML ROOLZ!

WitchSabrina

Quote from: "the_antithesis"I do love all the people here who think this is about public libraries. They so cute.


or


maybe you just helped some of us think of public libraries...........  not really a crime.
And not really a bad discussion either.

Didn't mean to derail your thread.  Sorry.
I am currently experiencing life at several WTFs per hour.

the_antithesis

Quote from: "WitchSabrina"
Quote from: "the_antithesis"I do love all the people here who think this is about public libraries. They so cute.


or


maybe you just helped some of us think of public libraries...........  not really a crime.
And not really a bad discussion either.

Didn't mean to derail your thread.  Sorry.

Well, public libraries are part of it. People don't use them which is why you keep hearing about public libraries that need to be saved or holding a bake sale to keep their doors open. But I was also talking about private libraries as in that collection of media you have sitting on a shelf in your house that you own but rarely, if ever, watch.

Lately I've been on an anti-physical kick, despite owning a bunch, and thinking how much better it would be if I could just stream all my movies and shows. But then, I was looking through the free movies on Youtube and Crackle and I didn't watch anything. I would occasionally see something and think "I outta watch that one." But I would keep scrolling and then forget about it.

Similar thing happened on my 3DS as I scroll through the eShop looking for something to buy. There are a couple things. But I don't put my money down, the eShop uses money. I may mentally note that something looks decent, but I forget about it. And it's not like the eShop is especially huge. If it had all NES, Game Boy games ever made, then maybe. But it doesn't. It's a very limited selection and I'm still flummoxed by choice. And I still bought a game I'm not happy with and will likely never play again.

One thing I've learned in life is I am not unique. Other people must have this same problem. But I can't put my finger on a solution. I want to be able to watch what I want when I want, but having this just means I never watch any of it. Is it just me and I'm old now or am I onto a peculiar facet of human behavior and digital streaming systems need to take advantage of it to be worthwhile.

Plu

I don't know. I still think the real problem is that you have nothing that's good enough to watch it now, which sounds to me like you just need to go look for stuff that is worth watching now.

Savior2006

I used my public library a couple months ago. Was able to rent some books for research on William Carlos Williams that I would've had to buy otherwise.
It took science to do what people imagine God can do.
--ApostateLois

"The closer you are to God the further you are from the truth."
--St Giordano

Smartmarzipan

Quote from: "Fidel_Castronaut"
Quote from: "Smartmarzipan"
Quote from: "the_antithesis"I do love all the people here who think this is about public libraries. They so cute.

Half the posters on this site either don't fucking read anything or have very poor reading comprehension.

You either get over it or it slowly drives you insane.

[ Image ]

I watched this gif while listening to metal and it was the best thing ever. Also, I accidentally edited your original post instead of quoting it (they shouldn't put those buttons next to each other), but it's back to normal now.

I just wanted to say I was highly amused. Goddamn.
Legi, Intellexi, Condemnavi.

"Religion is the human response to being alive and having to die." ~Anon

Inter arma enim silent leges

the_antithesis

Quote from: "Plu"I don't know. I still think the real problem is that you have nothing that's good enough to watch it now, which sounds to me like you just need to go look for stuff that is worth watching now.


Plu

Well, yes. Which leaves you with three options:

- Invest the time to figure what stuff is worth it and ignore all the junk, which will probably give you about a 50/50 ratio of searching (which can be fun in and of itself) and watching (will clearly be fun)

- Watch the junk that is thrown in front of you, which will probably be about a 90/10 ratio of watching horrible junk and watching slightly less horrible junk, with the added advantage of telling the media company that their junk is still not so bad that you'll stop watching

- Drop the medium altogether, which is a great choice if most of it's bunk and you can't be bothered to go looking. You don't have to watch tv or read books, or whatever it is, you know.

Hydra009

Quote from: "Plu"Well, yes. Which leaves you with three options:

- Invest the time to figure what stuff is worth it and ignore all the junk, which will probably give you about a 50/50 ratio of searching (which can be fun in and of itself) and watching (will clearly be fun)
Ding, ding, ding.  We have a winner.  And it's not even really all that hard given that really good shows tend to have immense followings.  (Though there are a few diamonds in the rough that never got popular, but are still quite good)  Hell, we have quite a few threads where we gush about our favorite TV shows *coughGameofThronescough*  Word of mouth alone will generally steer you in the right direction, assuming you like the genre of course.

the_antithesis

Quote from: "Plu"Well, yes. Which leaves you with three options:

I'm not looking for solutions. I'm just making an observation.

Plu

Well forgive me for trying to help you with something that is obviously bothering you and fairly easily resolved, then  :-?
Feel free to continue being annoyed with this whole thing for no good reason, or something.

Hydra009

He's looking for empathy, not solutions.   :P