• Geetnerd@lemmy.worldEnglish
    17·
    14 days ago

    Or just a place to escape abusive households, or avoid peer pressure, or just be alone for a while. And God forbid, learn something.

    • ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      13 days ago

      I used to renovate houses for an organization in Atlanta similar to Habitat for Humanity. We would buy derelict houses and renovate them to provide housing for homeless people. Unfortunately these houses always had people squatting in them already, so the first stage of any project was us going in with various threatening hand tools and rousting out the current occupants. We appreciated the irony of this but I doubt they did.

    • Kyrgizion@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      14 days ago

      It’s happening. The funding for libraries across the US is getting clawed back, and I suspect many (the majority) will eventually close permanently.

      Here in the EU, the vibe in libraries is decidedly “get your books and GTFO”. The old timey welcoming vibe and friendly librarians are a thing of the past.

      • Mariemarion@lemm.eeEnglish
        3·
        13 days ago

        Where? My small library in rural France has book clubs, story time (on site and at the public pool), vintage and modern gaming consoles, art shows, craft workshops, and more.

  • iAvicenna@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    12 days ago

    and the only place where they dont ask for exorbitant amounts of money in exchange for self improvement.

    • AA5B@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      12 days ago

      Thanks for the opportunity to point out that most libraries also value community support. They can always use volunteers and donations but a great way to help your library is to look for book sales!

      When a library has too many of certain books less popular than expected or books that have gotten a fair amount of use they need to replace them. A community book sale gives you the opportunity to buy books at a huge discount and the library the opportunity to get a little of their investment back to support more current needs.