Of libraries and such

[Goatwhiskers]

Why do we even have them anymore? This modern generation apparently doesn't read. Went to my local library the other day, the lady told me the young folks never crack a book, they're only there for computer access. Point of going was to see if they had anything by Robert Ruark. Got "Use Enough Gun", takes you back to times gone by and the Africa of an earlier day. Also got "The Old Man and the Boy", can't wait to get into that one. Speaking of good books, some of you might enjoy "Beyond Reproach" by J. D. Kinman. A work of fiction, but ties in with all these mass shootings in a way that makes you stop and think. JD writes a story that you can go back in a few months and read again, even tho you "know" what happens next. Well, gotta get up from here and go load some ammo. Shucks, might get a chance to go after cape buffalo, gotta be ready. GW :castmine:

[popper]

Yup, just municipal paid daycare centers. Maybe a few Dr. Suess & 'Tommy has 2 mothers' books.

[Ickisrulz]

Yup, just municipal paid daycare centers. Maybe a few Dr. Suess & 'Tommy has 2 mothers' books.

Dr. Seuss was a genius. Just for the record.

[mold maker]

Whoo there. Let's not lump them all in that category. I have a 15-year-old Grandaughter That read 74 books during last school year. (way over a thousand in her life) Not children's books either, but subjects like 'The Holicost, and Egyptian culture' all while maintaining a 4.4 GPA with college level courses. She is an accomplished pianist, plays the violin, guitar, and mandolin. She has a 13-year-old Sister who is following in her footsteps plus playing sports.
The library is the second place I look for reference material because I first use the PC (on the library site) to see what's available.
I know it's true that many young folks don't make use of the wealth of info available for free, but that is only what we as parents and Grandparents have taught them by example.

[JeffinNZ]

Not the case in my house. Number one daughter reads 'til she is blue in the face. Number two daughter not far behind.

[WebMonkey]

Extreme readers here.
6 kids, 3 out of 7 grandkids (4 too young to read by themselves).
Only a few prefer ebooks over hardcopy.

I prefer ebooks for fiction and hardcopy for nonfiction.
All we can do is teach. The kids have to learn.
:)
'Monkey

[Geezer in NH]

My DW is the elected Treasurer of the town Library. There are many young folks active there including reading whatever they can.

Don't base your opinion of a big metro area library. The kids probably cannot read due to their union based NEA teachers.

[DerekP Houston]

I thought I would be big in to ebooks, but honestly they don't engage me at all like a real book does. The electronic light seems to strain my eyes more than just reading by a lamp anyways, and it never needs charging or wifi signal. Much like guns, I collect what I read and don't intend on giving it back so I always just buy the book if it looks interesting.

[xs11jack]

I read a lot and every time I go to the county library here in O Fallon, the place is full of the old and the young alike. O Fallon is about 85,000 in population. The whole county is about 250,000 to 300,000.
Ole Jack

[runfiverun]

J.D. also has a sequel to the book mentioned above.

I should mention our very own J.D. Kinman B.T.W. for those that aren't aware of it.
He and I developed the 45/45/10 lube together, it is also known as Recluse lube by many.
named after his Avatar name here.

[Hogtamer]

Old man and the Boy is maybe the best book I've ever read. "Bird" aka "pottidge" hunting and buckshot for deer is in my genes. The greater theme is the life lessons passed to the boy by the old man in so many ways.

[dtknowles]

I thought I might have to weigh in on this one but seems to have things covered.

I read some fiction almost every night. Almost always get my books at the Library. I have had them get me some technical non-fiction from other libraries. They can get you almost anything ever printed if you know the ISBN number.

Tim

[JeffinNZ]

Strongly believe that Ms JK Rowling deserves every red cent she has made from the Harry Potter series as it ignited the desire to read in a new generation and is still going. Further, daughter number one has spread to similar themes as a spin off.

Doesn't actually matter what they read as long as they read. If you get young fellas who will only read motorcycle or shooting magazines then let him, just as long as he is reading.

[Echo]

Speaking of good books, some of you might enjoy "Beyond Reproach" by J. D. Kinman. A work of fiction, but ties in with all these mass shootings in a way that makes you stop and think. JD writes a story that you can go back in a few months and read again, even tho you "know" what happens next. Well, gotta get up from here and go load some ammo. Shucks, might get a chance to go after cape buffalo, gotta be ready. GW :castmine:

JD is a member here - goes by 'Recluse'...

[Idz]

Most libraries have 'evolved' as political correctness swept the country. No more gun, hunting, farming, building books that appeal to the lower classes. With the internet wikipedia, dedicated websites, and Amazon you can find what you want other places than the library so no reason to go there and search in vain. If you only want fiction, politically correct history, and art then modern city libraries are fine but they are no longer a technical resource like they used to be. There may be some towns that have useful libraries but most I've seen are now for entertainment not learning.

[DerekP Houston]

I have my boyscout fieldbook from the 80's, it is a night and day difference compared to what is in it now =). Lots of useful stuff in there! Hope my son is interested in camping and outdoors when he gets older.

[popper]

I am a 'reader'. My kids are readers, GKs not so much but starting to be. Read through most of 2 H.S. libraries. Old girl friend got me into it, her mom had the complete E.A. Poe collection and a lot others. Used to go to Linda Hall (now MU@KC ), best technical collection on everything in the state. You could even get permission to look at 'antiquities' section - with gloves and in a special room. Wasn't much there last time I went ~ 20 yrs ago.

[DerekP Houston]

Old man and the Boy is maybe the best book I've ever read. "Bird" aka "pottidge" hunting and buckshot for deer is in my genes. The greater theme is the life lessons passed to the boy by the old man in so many ways.

Thanks for the recommendation! I've got a copy on the way now, will be reading it to my boy for bedtime stories.

[Clay M]

My son just gave me a copy of Command and Control by Eric Schlosser
It is a Cold War book about Nuclear weapons.

I read all the time.
Took the TV out over ten years ago and never looked back.

[EMC45]

My 3 kids (8, 10, 13) love the library! They will all come home with armloads of books as well. They are all homeschooled and a lot of the homeschool meetups revolve around libraries. My oldest recently said she may even want to be a librarian when she gets older. Cool with me! I spent many hours of my youth nerding it at the library. You mean to tell me that I can look at ANY of these books whenever I want?!?!?! I'm there! I remember when I got my first library card I thought I was "the man". I was checking books out like crazy. My 3 now have their own cards as well and when they got them, boy were they proud of them!

[JWT]

My 11yr old loves to read and loves the library. He got his library card this year.

As far as Robert Ruark goes, his fiction (Honey Badger, Uhuru, Something Of Value) are all worth reading. The books about the African uprisings have some bearing to what we see today.

[Blacksmith]

There are still some true Libraries around but the digital age is making advances. I was at the local library awhile back and was pleased to see lots of activity many people working with their laptops and such although some patrons looked unconventional in appearance. When I got a look at their screens it seemed most were studying how to score higher in video games, just looking for free Wifi.

I used to work for a company that specialized in books about books which includes libraries. Here is a link to their section on libraries:
http://www.oakknoll.com/specialties.php?category_id=225&action=browse&orderBy=custom2

They have lots of other subjects dealing with all aspects of books from making the paper, to printing the words, and binding the pages into a book. It was a cool place to work and I got to deal with libraries around the world.

[waksupi]

The library is well used here. The further north you go, the larger and well used libraries are.

[Jake70]

I have no need for a library, but that's not to say I don't read. I get my books on Amazon. :p

[dtknowles]

I have no need for a library, but that's not to say I don't read. I get my books on Amazon. :p

Your post made a lot of different thoughts run thru my mind. Don't take any of this as me putting words in your mouth.

The town libraries funding is listed right on my property tax bill. I wonder how many property owners resent paying for our libraries?

I like the Library and use it. I bet a lot are like you and don't.

Libraries are like schools, they are sort of Socialist. We all pay in to make sure that those who couldn't pay for books or teachers or internet still have access to those things. I know that if there were no public schools my parents would have sent me to private school, if I couldn't check books out of the library I would buy more books. I have had internet since I have know about it being available, had a dedicated line for dial up. I must be a liberal because I think we should have public schools and libraries. Would have could have and did send my kid to private school for a while.

I have used Library Internet a few time in my life. First time was Katrina, I did not have a lap top and we evacuated to Little Rock. Used the Library to post to Facebook, check E-mail, find things to do until we could get home, made travel arrangement to send my wife to stay with the daughter in Boston. Second time was right after I got laid-off, I took a two month vacation trip out west, still did not own a lap top so I would use library computers some times but I did have a cell phone that I could use to check e-mail and post pictures to facebook but not a lot else. The facebook interface as clunky.

Anyway I am getting off the point. We provide for a Common Defense and National Infrastructure paying for Public Schools and Libraries seems reasonable but it is a sort of liberal concept.

Tim

[Jake70]

Your post made a lot of different thoughts run thru my mind. Don't take any of this as me putting words in your mouth.

The town libraries funding is listed right on my property tax bill. I wonder how many property owners resent paying for our libraries?

I like the Library and use it. I bet a lot are like you and don't.

Libraries are like schools, they are sort of Socialist. We all pay in to make sure that those who couldn't pay for books or teachers or internet still have access to those things. I know that if there were no public schools my parents would have sent me to private school, if I couldn't check books out of the library I would buy more books. I have had internet since I have know about it being available, had a dedicated line for dial up. I must be a liberal because I think we should have public schools and libraries. Would have could have and did send my kid to private school for a while.

I have used Library Internet a few time in my life. First time was Katrina, I did not have a lap top and we evacuated to Little Rock. Used the Library to post to Facebook, check E-mail, find things to do until we could get home, made travel arrangement to send my wife to stay with the daughter in Boston. Second time was right after I got laid-off, I took a two month vacation trip out west, still did not own a lap top so I would use library computers some times but I did have a cell phone that I could use to check e-mail and post pictures to facebook but not a lot else. The facebook interface as clunky.

Anyway I am getting off the point. We provide for a Common Defense and National Infrastructure paying for Public Schools and Libraries seems reasonable but it is a sort of liberal concept.

Tim

I completely agree, I think libraries are a great thing, and something that is necessary to us as a society. I personally don't go to one because if I want a book, I usually want to keep it. I also like taking my time with it, so it's just easier to buy a used one off Amazon. I don't see a very small amount of Socialism such as this as a bad thing. It's when you start trying to force the working class to support the nonworking class that it becomes an issue, but that's getting into politics.

[MT Gianni]

I have my boyscout fieldbook from the 80's, it is a night and day difference compared to what is in it now =). Lots of useful stuff in there! Hope my son is interested in camping and outdoors when he gets older.
Mine from the 60's is far different than the one from the 80's and the one I saw from 1941 is different yet. Get an old field manual not the handbook for good info. We have fallen from how to sharpen an ax and fell trees to butter knives are dangerous and must be used properly.

[DerekP Houston]

Mine from the 60's is far different than the one from the 80's and the one I saw from 1941 is different yet. Get an old field manual not the handbook for good info. We have fallen from how to sharpen an ax and fell trees to butter knives are dangerous and must be used properly.

Indeed, this was passed to me from my father it might be older i'd need to check when I get back. It is the Field Book not the boyscout handbook with all the merit badge info, just cold solid facts. I still think all of it should be taught but i understand the BSA has changed since I was in it. I'll take a look around and see if I can't locate an older copy at my grandmothers, we are still liquidating the estate and clearing stuff out unfortunately.