Debating Noble Purposes

In the July 17th edition of The Christian Science Monitor, William Wisner wrote about public libraries and his goal in restoring noble purpose to them. On July 20th the Annoyed Librarian responded to Wisner’s op-ed. Now there is a response by a non-librarian posted in one of the Christian Science Monitor’s blogs.

July 22, 2009 by Uncategorized 2

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2 Responses

  1. AndyW says:
    July 22, 2009 at 5:24 pm

    Agree with AL, for once
    The sun and the moon aligned for AL and I to agree on something. But it happened.

    Reply
  2. AmandaRoberts says:
    July 22, 2009 at 6:04 pm

    The New “Noble”
    I am excited about the future of public libraries, and quite frankly, I am *very tired* of all this talk lamenting The Old Quiet Library. It is SO condescending and displays a lack of awareness of how people nowadays like to engage with resources, entertainment, and each other in a public setting.

    Each year more and more libraries are inventing new, creative ways to increase patrons’ access to services and information. THAT approach will ensure the relevance of libraries in the future — not acting as “direct heir[s] to the Enlightenment” and worrying about providing a “secular space of silence and reverence.”

    Here’s just one example:

    Alachua County Library District — in partnership with the local division of the state’s Department of Children and Families, the Partnership for Strong Families, and Casey Family Programs — developed a library facility to be used as a one-stop resource to help patrons access e-government resources. The new library branch is also collaborative: it shares space with a network of approximately 30 agencies dedicated to child welfare. (See LJ’s entire article)

    To me, this is the new “noble.” (And it’s certainly much less condescending.)

    Reply

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