tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post7081101752781588799..comments2024-03-21T19:08:05.737-07:00Comments on Genealogy's Star: The Death of Libraries -- a requiemJames Tannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02989059644120454647noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-66613230091577750382016-06-01T05:23:14.259-07:002016-06-01T05:23:14.259-07:00Hmm, I am interested in your idea that libraries &...Hmm, I am interested in your idea that libraries "level the playing field." Information is never free in the sense you indicate. This gives me some ideas for future posts. Thanks. James Tannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02989059644120454647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-58822824026427477082016-05-31T19:52:57.115-07:002016-05-31T19:52:57.115-07:00Libraries have and always will be relevant to the ...Libraries have and always will be relevant to the masses of people who cannot afford the access to the information, whether digital or in- print,that you are in the business of researching. Libraries level the playing field for all by allowing everyone the right to information free of charge. This concept scares quite a few people who aren't comfortable with the idea that those without education and/or money might have access to the same information and opportunities they have. Especially those people, such as yourself, that are in the business of information. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-89880035845193588422016-05-31T09:34:55.688-07:002016-05-31T09:34:55.688-07:00For more than a decade libraries have been pointed...For more than a decade libraries have been pointed to as the fall-back sites for the many of us who do not have good residential internet service.<br /><br />Yet now you report:<br />"Over 65 percent of libraries report an insufficient number of public computers to meet demand some or all of the time.<br /><br />"Overall, 41.4 percent of libraries report that their Internet connection speeds are insufficient some or all of the time."<br /><br />I find this very alarming. What about access to tax forms and governmental services that our local library has provided in the past?<br /><br />Books are still a combination of media formats that are changing. This has not shaken out to a great degree, but I am alarmed at the decline in access to in-print versions. Trying to read books in internet media can be more difficult than in hard-copy, where it is so easy to just flip to the index at the back, or the table of contents.<br /><br />Geoloverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12050268303916428230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-22053638505467354742016-05-31T08:08:01.516-07:002016-05-31T08:08:01.516-07:00 A very good example. I have similar ones that cou... A very good example. I have similar ones that could go on for a very long post. James Tannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02989059644120454647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-25040923703812289392016-05-31T07:46:52.489-07:002016-05-31T07:46:52.489-07:00This is a subject that worries me, too, James. The...This is a subject that worries me, too, James. The idea that libraries provide a "digital connection" is being distorted by commercial forces, over in the UK. For instance, I used to access an excellent newspaper archive (Gale) by going to my library's Web site and providing my library-card number. That archive has now been dumped by virtually all libraries in England and it has been replaced by access to the BNA (British Newspaper Archive). However, that access is ONLY available via the computer(s) in the library, and there is no longer any remote access. For me (who's generally "remote" at the best of times), I now have even less use for my library.Tony Proctorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18330460400737261264noreply@blogger.com