LISNews: Librarian News

Ron Force writes \"The Wall Street Journal has an Opinion column by Lisa Singh on turning the library into a coffee house to attract users:

\"...the Starbucks effect goes beyond mental stimulation. It is, so to speak, a way of life, suggesting leisure rather than study and entertainment rather than work. It is in the general culture, whether there is a Starbucks nearby or not. One librarian I know says that she spends most of her time these days telling patrons to pull up their pants, put on some shoes and stop cracking gum, in between signing them up to use the computers, in front of which they often idle the hours away on Yahoo chat or even, occasionally, some porn site.

In many ways, you can sympathize with the attempt of library administrators to make their buildings \"relevant\"--especially to the young. It is probably a losing proposition, but you can understand the logic. Little wonder that so many look to Barnes & Noble--and Starbucks--for inspiration.\"
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