- cross-posted to:
- microblogmemes@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- microblogmemes@lemmy.world
You must log in or # to comment.
tbh not always, at one public library I went to I was asked to pay a membership fee, even though I only wanted to sit at a desk with my laptop
That’s somewhat common here if you don’t live in the area that the library system serves. For instance you might live over the county line but this library is still far closer than the ones your taxes go to.
Spikes on benches, fees on library membership.
I would imagine the author is referring to indoor public spaces, to which I wholeheartedly agree.
Depending on where you live, there may not be a lot of outdoor public spaces either
Yep. Most of the towns I lived in looked like this.
Oh god, this is Toronto
Ah, the geography of nothing. I wish it would die.
deleted by creator
Agreed, but the author is not highlighting the lack of public spaces in general, but specifically a lack of public spaces where there isn’t an expectation to spend money.
In my experience, the expectation to spend is greater at indoor spaces than outdoor, so with this distinction, I agree with the author. If taken as originally written, I would think the number of outdoor public spaces far outweigh the number of libraries in any community, but YMMV.
There are parts of the world where outdoor spaces are basically unusable for most of the year because it’s either too hot or too cold.
When the temperature is reasonable, you can use parks, forests, lakes, rivers, beaches, pedestrian malls, bike paths, etc. Many cities have public basketball courts, tennis courts, skate parks, hockey rinks, and similar things. In some less busy areas you can even use the streets. Street hockey and/or street futbol are pretty common in some areas.
But, extremely hot weather, or extremely cold weather can mean that being outside is terrible. You can dress warmly for winter, and that’s fine to do sports. So, you could go cross-country skiing in the winter in a park. But, you can’t really just hang out outside when it’s -10C.
It would be great if there were more indoor options for places with bad winters and/or bad summers.
That’s because in English, the word public means you can walk into without being a Lord. Which means a public space can be a private property.
In Latin derived languages, public means owned by government. So a public park, public library, public company or public university, are 100% owned by the government.
So when I studied in my public university, yes I would spend on books and food, but it has a built in rule that it is forbidden to charge students or staff for anything.
Went to a library to hang out with a friend today. It was delightful! Libraries are truly a treasure
Well my local library disagrees because they expect me to pay my late fees, smh.
To be in the building?
spoiler
Of course not, I was just joking.
Which is one of the reasons the fascist GOP is attacking them.
That concept is incompatible with capitalism, libraries must be eradicated!
If the idea of a public library was proposed today this would pretty much be the response.
It’s basically communism! /s
I hate to say it, but they actually do need you to spend money. Your attendance and checkouts allow them to draw tax money to operate. You’re not paying at the door, you’re paying from your paycheck, and if people don’t go, they shut them down.
It’s not all doom and gloom. That tax is a great return on investment, helping to lift people out of low places and providing community service equal to all. But they’re not free, and you are spending money, just not directly
This library isn’t profitable; we should close it.
🫠
Libraries don’t fund themselves. It’s more like your money is being wasted if you’re not using them.
You can do this anywhere that is freely accessible. Beaches and parks as an example.
Isn’t that just… basically everywhere?
Not in a lot of places in the US, super not in cities. Yeah you can get away without spending money but the expectation is there, and often baked into how people socialize as well
Well that sucks
I live in a small Australian city.
There are 100s of kms of beaches, most with free BBQs and showers.
100s of kms of walks, hikes, bike paths.
There’s mountain bike stuff, skate parks, dirt jumps, basketball courts, soccer fields, lakes.
There’s loads of parks. Some of them have heaps of stuff for kids.
We have a village square also. Just a bigbgrass area in the city with free WiFi and often events and things.
All of these things are public spaces with no expectation of spending money. My city isn’t unusual in Australia.
That’s what I/we want in North America, but for some reason people always think they have to drive a vehicle to within one meter of their desired destination.
And also that anyone existing in a place without spending money is probably a criminal, especially if they’re not white.
This is what peak freedom looks like, like it or not
We do, unfortunately, have the “especially if they’re not white” part in Australia as well. I’d definitely say we’re doing better though, for example far less PoC die as a result of the police here.
That’s when living becomes loitering, so you’d better keep moving.
Australian’s want to drive everywhere too.
There’s a fairly commonly held distaste for cyclists here.
We don’t have these things instead of a drive-everywhere culture. We have them in addition to that.
To be fair, we do have far better public transit systems than most of the US. When I was a teenager, I could easily go to the library after school, then catch a bus home afterwards. Our libraries also offer far more than just books in most cases. There were community groups, video games and consoles, a café that was community run twice a week with really cheap coffee. It was always a better place to study for me when I was doing my high school certificate.
Our local library is amazing.
There’s a huge area to sit and read, or work, or for groups et cetera. The view from there down the main street to the harbour is fantastic.
There’s also a separate area which is accessible to students 24 hours. You show them your enrolment and they give you an access card.
Honestly I’m really proud of our local library.
Ye that’s how it’s here too
