Why Stop At Free Books And Plays?

CollectiveFreedomIsFree
ForAllVille

Following up on yesterday's post on Joe Papp and free libraries and theatre, laura k has a post up today on all that multi-level stratification public librarypaloozas can be.

Here's a bit on what some folks in the Netherlands have done:

...They now group books by areas of interest, combining fiction and nonfiction; they display books face-out to catch the eye of browsers; and they train staff members in marketing and customer service techniques.

The library is also a Seats2meet (S2M) location where patrons are empowered to help one another in exchange for free, permanent, coworking space, and they utilize the S2M Serendipity Machine to connect library users in real-time. They also have a bustling cafe, an extensive events and music program, a gaming facility, a reading garden and more. The result? The New Library surpassed all expectation about usage with over 100,000 visitors in the first two months. It is now considered one of the most innovative libraries in the world...


And then there is the concept of 'makerspace' libraries that laura is directly involved with.

There are just so many things we can do together.

And, sure, programs like this cost money.

But.

It is money spent on the people, not the cronies.

OK?


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