Library a quiet sanctuary in hard times

[CielOnTap]

Library a quiet sanctuary in hard times
Toronto libraries the place to be during recessions

Feb 11, 2009 04:30 AM
Trish Crawford
Living Reporter

After 60 years as a travelling salesman, Peter Cripps is enjoying his retirement staying right here at home.

His routine is simple: morning coffee (plus free refill) at the McDonald's in his neighbourhood, followed by a workout at the gym and an afternoon reading the newspapers at the S. Walter Stewart library near Coxwell and O'Connor Aves.

"I come here every day to read," says Cripps, bathed in the afternoon light as he sits at a built-in desk adjacent to the windows.

The library is his sanctuary, his entertainment and his school. http://www.thestar.com/living/article/585418

The main floor computer area of the Toronto Reference Library is occupied almost always for the Internet terminals. Yes, you need a library card for the terminals if they are not express ones. Some library systems have a card-free 15 minute Internet express terminal in most branches, so visitors who are not regular patrons can do a quick look-up online of information.

Smaller branches of the Toronto Public Library make great break stations when exploring neighbourhoods. Which ones have French materials, best collection of fiction paperbacks, best reading nooks, variety of newspapers and plenty of seating?

[CielOnTap]

Reference books slowly being phased out of libraries
As more reference titles move online, print reference collections in many Toronto collections are being reduced.
Published On Tue Jul 27
Jasmeet Sidhu, Staff Reporter
It’s a familiar undertaking for academics, bookworms and the occasionally curious: furiously scanning the library shelves, lugging out a thick, dusty volume, and thumbing your way through the pages until you’ve found your much sought after entry.

However, the act of reaching for that almanac, encyclopedia or dictionary in a local library may soon become a thing of the past, as several Toronto libraries move to reduce their print reference collections.

Susan Caron, manager of collection development for the Toronto Public Library says that the library’s physical collection of reference books has been getting smaller, as many reference titles discontinue their print editions for online editions.http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/840817--reference-books-slowly-being-phased-out-of-libraries

Online resources are becoming more the mainstream option, but even accessing a few library systems' catalogues reveals common databases chosen as reference material (mostly from the US, with a smattering of Canadian titles). Yes you can read the information online, but you miss some of the wonderful discoveries of just leafing through the pages for photos and reading some random items. It's the tactile as well as the visual experience.

[CielOnTap]

Public libraries: An idea that can transform India
Published: Monday, Aug 16, 2010, 0:25 IST
By Abhay Vaidya | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

If education has been recognised as the fundamental transformative force that can literally pull generations out of the clutches of poverty, why then are our libraries the most neglected of public institutions?

Just as the mid-day meal scheme of 2002 has worked wonders in drawing children to school, so too can an innovative strategy in the form of interesting, well-stocked libraries make a difference to children in rural and municipal schools in India. Libraries, not with boring and badly printed government text-books full of spelling and grammatical mistakes, but with well-illustrated, colourful and pop-up books, scientific and educational toys.

While establishing the world’s largest radio telescope near Narayangaon, Pune, radio astronomer Govind Swarup had made a visit to the nearby village school at Khodad. Everything went well till he visited the school “library”. Some new books had been kept locked in a cupboard and children were meant to admire these books through the glass door. The books were not to be touched because “they would get spoilt”. http://www.dnaindia.com/opinion/comment_public-libraries-an-idea-that-can-transform-india_1423898

Books do tend to show wear and tear from multiple patron loans. But ideas can outlast books so get the books circulating among the children.