Libraries should better serve public

Everything to everybody– my rant
Rant

Our library is loud. Kids come there, do homework, go to book groups, play Yu-Gi-Oh. And some people complain it is no longer a quiet repository of books. The fact of the matter is, we may be a public library, but we still can’t be everything to everybody’s satisfaction every hour we’re open. We certainly do our best. But sometimes it just doesn’t work.

I would like, failing more computers, a few computers that work reliably, thank you. That would save headaches for me, and I think patrons would like it too. I won’t even get into the monetary and staff time costs involved, though.

Food court? Not near my computer terminals! I just spilled the innards of a hot pocket on my keyboard at home. I am so not picking someone’s pizza remains out of a public terminal CD drive. A food court would be nice… but they’re better suited for the mall. Or other places people feel less “entitled.” Just because your tax money bought a serif of the letter “a” on page 92 of Pride and Prejudice doesn’t mean you get to abuse the equipment. Maybe that’s not the greatest attitude, but I’ve run into too many people who figure their tax money bought the book once… if they lose it, or damage it, why should they have to replace it?

There’s a librarian at my library that says, “Just because you pay for the fire department to run, doesn’t mean they let you drive the fire truck.” Just because it’s a public building (which it may or may not be… my library is actually not a public building, though it’s a public library by name. I’m still fuzzy on those details) doesn’t mean you personally run the place. What floats your boat might really disturb someone else. Such is living in society, though, I guess.

End Rant

I agree, mostly, with this gentleman’s points. Libraries should get more funding to supply more of the services patrons want. If they want more computers, we should give them more computers (I still stress reliability.) If they want more periodicals, and better photocopiers, and more comfortable seating, fine. But there are ground rules everywhere, and the writer must realize that a public library setting is very different than a Barnes and Noble… Things just get more abuse here, and don’t stay nice as long. They will need a replacement cycle. So if we can get more funding for those services now, great. But let’s make sure we have funding in the future, so that five or ten years from now we don’t have the same rant from someone else.