Comments on: A video store for books.

By: fitz

fitz — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 05:50:42 +0000

I vote now because Portland mails me ballots. When they wanted more money for the libraries I voted no. Who uses them anymore?

THEY ARE SO OUTDATED. We pay millions to run buildings no one visits.

What we need is a new NATIONAL library system, like blockbuster online. You search online for whatever you want, in every category. You sign in and order it mailed to you. EVERYTHING is at your fingertips. They have hundreds of copies of everything in some massive warehouse.

I bet you 1000 dollars it would be cheaper than running all the public libraries we have in every city and suburb. I bet you public use would go up 1000%.

By: aaron

aaron — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:21:21 +0000

I thoroughly enjoyed this.

By: Amira

Amira — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 03:09:40 +0000

Glad you brought up Milford’s rather pathetic attempt of a library. What you didn’t say/ know is that we lucky residents pay around $230 per person for said object. Taxes Adam. Now if there were only something worth checking out of it…….

By: Steven K

Steven K — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 15:20:14 +0000

That’s nice that you found the library after 28 odd years. I think it may be a good thing you never stumbled into the Milford library in during your years there. It was a beautiful building, yes, but it just didn’t seem to have anything. Scary to think had you attempted to sample the fruits of the Milford branch you may have been turned off forever from the idea of the public library. You may have thought a library really is just an over expensive way of storing discarded romance novels.

Every time I think about leaving Chicago, I am reminded of the amazing library it has. One can find anything in that place. The cherry on top, however, is their endless store of backlogged journals in microfilm format. One could read for years about any type of criticism you could think of on their endless miles of microfilm. I remember, more still, the day that a hint of hope in the city was rekindled within my heart when I asked the help desk how one pays for print outs of microfilm documents and to my delighted shock, I was told that any microfilm document can be printed out for free, “yes, just push the ‘print’ button.” That’s it.

In a city that is constantly finding new back-end ways of taxing the local population, from revenue trucks with mounted cameras seeking out license plates that have expired stickers or outstanding tickets to the local recorder charging upwards of $2.00 a page for “uncertified” copies, one is yet able to search and print any number of thoughtful essays at no charge whatsoever.