Comments on: Libraries http://www.stephendeas.com/libraries/ The Dragons Are Coming Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:01:46 +0100 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Anna Wildheit http://www.stephendeas.com/libraries/comment-page-1/#comment-14746 Anna Wildheit Sat, 29 Jan 2011 09:41:27 +0000 http://www.stephendeas.com/?p=1632#comment-14746 Well it's certainly one of those things where you'll want policy from higher up, so I guess you'll need the big boys/industry lobbying. The Flemish (or Dutch community, which is different from the Flemish region in this fuzzball of a country) have developed a website for their collective libraries, where visitors can search (evidently) and check out special events, but also read (or listen) online, find a collection of press releases, follow blogs of libraries... And I can't wait to read how he turns out! :D Well it’s certainly one of those things where you’ll want policy from higher up, so I guess you’ll need the big boys/industry lobbying. The Flemish (or Dutch community, which is different from the Flemish region in this fuzzball of a country) have developed a website for their collective libraries, where visitors can search (evidently) and check out special events, but also read (or listen) online, find a collection of press releases, follow blogs of libraries…

And I can’t wait to read how he turns out! :D

]]> By: Stephen http://www.stephendeas.com/libraries/comment-page-1/#comment-14744 Stephen Sat, 29 Jan 2011 08:59:28 +0000 http://www.stephendeas.com/?p=1632#comment-14744 We have mobile libraries here too. What's happening here is being left to local authorities, so it's different in different places. What worries me here is that the facilities and services that are provided over and above the basics are what's most likely to suffer, and they tend to be the things that help those who are most needy. We shall see. On another note, I'm writing The King's Assassin at the moment and the aging teacher of swordplay is a certain Silvestre - I hope this will meet with yout approval :-) We have mobile libraries here too. What’s happening here is being left to local authorities, so it’s different in different places. What worries me here is that the facilities and services that are provided over and above the basics are what’s most likely to suffer, and they tend to be the things that help those who are most needy. We shall see.

On another note, I’m writing The King’s Assassin at the moment and the aging teacher of swordplay is a certain Silvestre – I hope this will meet with yout approval :-)

]]> By: Anna Wildheit http://www.stephendeas.com/libraries/comment-page-1/#comment-14706 Anna Wildheit Fri, 28 Jan 2011 17:08:49 +0000 http://www.stephendeas.com/?p=1632#comment-14706 Many years ago the library system in my country was overhauled to make it more efficient and less costly, where modernisation (linking all libraries into one database) went hand in hand with rationalisation (abolishing libraries in small villages, merging multiple ones in cities), and some serious spending of money (libraries were usually found in drafty old money-pits). Most voices against were, for good reason, decrying the loss of libraries/access to all the public. And hence the "biblio-bus" was introduced: a (modded) bus is loaded up with books and visits those villages and districts that lost access (also schools, hospitals), and I think you can also order titles through the central online database. So in all, I believe my country has a better library system now, which explains why nobody is putting an axe to them in these financial difficult times (but then, that might be because there's no government to decide just so) but we got it by putting money *in*... Perhaps knowledgeable people could make some sort of counteroffer to these cuts based on some research/comparison of how other countries deal with libraries? Many years ago the library system in my country was overhauled to make it more efficient and less costly, where modernisation (linking all libraries into one database) went hand in hand with rationalisation (abolishing libraries in small villages, merging multiple ones in cities), and some serious spending of money (libraries were usually found in drafty old money-pits). Most voices against were, for good reason, decrying the loss of libraries/access to all the public. And hence the “biblio-bus” was introduced: a (modded) bus is loaded up with books and visits those villages and districts that lost access (also schools, hospitals), and I think you can also order titles through the central online database.
So in all, I believe my country has a better library system now, which explains why nobody is putting an axe to them in these financial difficult times (but then, that might be because there’s no government to decide just so) but we got it by putting money *in*… Perhaps knowledgeable people could make some sort of counteroffer to these cuts based on some research/comparison of how other countries deal with libraries?

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