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Should Public Libraries Become Hacker Spaces? 164

ptorrone writes "Public libraries — the availability of free education for all — represent the collective commitment of a community to their future. They symbolize what is most important, a commitment to educating the next generation. The role of a public library should also adapt over time, and that time is finally here. It's time to plan how we're going to build the future and what place public libraries have, should have, or won't have. MAKE's latest article encourages everyone to start talking about one of our great resources, the public library, and its future."
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Should Public Libraries Become Hacker Spaces?

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  • Yes (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Junior J. Junior III ( 192702 ) on Friday March 11, 2011 @09:15AM (#35451902) Homepage

    Libraries do not have enough legal expenses already, and have ample over-budget to support this initiative.

    • by rtb61 ( 674572 )

      It seems perfectly reasonable for public libraries to become internet cafes, providing free shared internet services for those that can not afford it. This in conjunction with normal book services. The books definitely need to remain with people relying more than ever upon digital services, public libraries could become a haven for knowledge in the event of sustained power failure.

      It is never about what society can afford, as elements within society will deem that society can afford nothing but to servic

      • They've been headed this way for the last 15 years anyway. My local library in a small town had internet 15 years ago. My local library now in the big city has free wifi. There's no reason why you couldn't use it as a web cafe.
      • by khallow ( 566160 )

        It is never about what society can afford, as elements within society will deem that society can afford nothing but to service them and damn everyone else (narcissists and sociopaths). It is about what society values and requires that it members contribute too, in order to remain a part of that society.

        If only. You already know what the narcissists and sociopaths value, and they're part of society too.

        Whilst the opportunity no longer exists to exile the narcissists and sociopaths to the barbaric regions of the planet away from civilised people that share and care, we must still remember the lessons from the past and learn to isolate them from positions of control, governance and influence.

        If only. History shows a different lesson. That the narcissists and sociopaths end up in the positions of control, governance, and influence in the civilized world. I'd go as far as to say civilization cultivates and encourages them. Sure, barbarians might be narcissists and sociopaths, but that tends to be a potentially fatal handicap rather than an asset in low tech regions.

        • by spun ( 1352 )

          I believe the only solution is to give in to them completely, then let evolution work it's magic. In a hundred thousand years or so, these parasites will have devolved to the point where they are all some sort of leach-like creatures that attach themselves to their human hosts and suck. Then we just pull them all off and stomp on them, simple really.

    • Good libraries seek relevance in all things, and are relevant in so many things other than books. Don't limit your mission.

      Sure, it's hard work, but who else is going to do it? The schools? They're already mired in political and religious wrangling. They're trying to play the role of parent and teacher. They're already the subject of unfunded mandates that conflict with their mission. They're already burdened with parental indifference, community budget-cutting, and federal mandates for unrealistic pe

    • Re:Yes (Score:5, Interesting)

      by PopeRatzo ( 965947 ) * on Friday March 11, 2011 @10:31AM (#35452422) Journal

      Libraries do not have enough legal expenses already, and have ample over-budget to support this initiative.

      You think efforts like the ones by Republicans in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and others to put all the publicly held commons into the hands of the corporate donors is going to stop at public libraries?

      Junior, there's not going to be public anything when these Vandals are done.

    • Oddly enough my local library does host a hack space a few times a month in their public rooms. They simply require a waiver of responsibility and a contract from the group for damages.
  • by slim ( 1652 ) <john.hartnup@net> on Friday March 11, 2011 @09:16AM (#35451908) Homepage

    Public libraries — the availability of free education for all — represent the collective commitment of a community to their future. They symbolize what is most important, a commitment to educating the next generation.

    Try telling that to the British government.

    • by kenh ( 9056 )

      I thought our public schools "represent the collective commitment of a community to their future," not our libraries. (Though I suspect that too many districts reflect our "collective commitment" in an accurate, yet unflattering way.)

      • ...because by the age of 25, you've done all the inventing and creation you're going to, and all educational efforts should be spent on just the children.
        • by kenh ( 9056 )

          No, because we spend $10-25K/student per year on public school education (K-12). If Kids are our future, and collectively we all contribute (all property owners at least), then I stand by my statement. Thirteen years of $15K education is a significant investment, round about $200K per kiddie.

      • by slim ( 1652 )

        I thought our public schools "represent the collective commitment of a community to their future," not our libraries.

        Isn't it possible for them both to serve (part of) that purpose? As well as our universities, our museums, etc.

      • No, public schools represent our collective committment to indoctrinating the children into the worldview of those who control the schools (primarily the teachers' union). If public schools were committed to education, they would more readily remove those children who refuse to learn and do their best to interfere with the learning of others. In the U.S. (and quite likely many other countries), the public schools were created to train children to become ideal citizens. As a society, we no longer have a conc
        • First, "those who control the schools (primarily the teachers' union)". Your tinfoil hat may be on too tight.

          Then, "If public schools were committed to education, they would more readily remove those children who refuse to learn and do their best to interfere with the learning of others." Talk to teachers. They want to punt the little bastards out but the GOVERNMENT (not the teachers' union) won't let them. NCLB (and OBE before that, etc etc) and all that. Blame the DNA donors of those crotchfruit for refu

          • There is a significant difference between what teachers want and what the teachers' union wants. The teachers' unions are no more representative of what teachers want than the AARP is representative of what retired persons want.
            • by kenh ( 9056 )

              True, but many (not ALL, but many) teachers are forced to pay into their unions, AARP is purely optional - you don't have to pay in to AARP if you don't want to, teachers are a bit more coerced into "contributing" to their union.

              Also, Teacher's Unions ostensibly have votes on major issues, so in theory the union does represent the will of the teachers it counts as members, at least the majority of them. AARP didn't ask it's members to vote on HCR to determine AARP's position on it, instead AARP took alook a

              • Yes, it does have such a responsibility, but I would say that for the most part it fails to do so. The fact that the union dues are mandatory means that the teachers' unions have even less incentive to worry about what teachers actually want. The problem with the way things are setup is that if a teacher decides to campaign against the positions championed by union leaders they are subject to significant negative consequences. If there are few voices out there telling teachers that the leadership position i
          • by tnk1 ( 899206 )

            Having had to deal with the troublemakers that you refer to in such an appealing manner, I understand the desire to remove them from the classroom. On the other hand, the DNA donors of those children also pay taxes to help maintain the school. Presumably that is because their children will be allowed to go to school as well.

            On one hand, its not fair to leave those kids in a classroom, but on the other hand, their parents often pay substantial taxes to send their children there. Kicking those children out

        • Since the US has compulsory education, I'm not sure "removing those children who refuse to learn" would have any legal merit. Grouping "those who refuse to learn" in a different curriculum that addresses the reasons behind their unwillingness to learn that removes them from distracting the general student body already exists. It's called special education. I think it should be carried to the next level where special education candidates should be grouped and put into entire schools. This goes for advance

          • I am aware of the fact that most states have openly available curriculum standards and I am aware that most people are unaware that those standards contain elements that they would find offensive. Concensus means that the overwhelming majority agree with the standard. If the voters of Texas regularly elect officials that disagree with the curriculum standard, that indicates that a concensus does not exist among the people of Texas, or that the concensus among the people of Texas is at odds with what people
            • The consensus should be amongst curriculum experts, not parents, and definitely NOT politicians (albeit school administration is a form of politician).

              If random Joe is offended by a curriculum item that curriculum experts deem to be important, they have a couple choices (and they'll probably choose home/private schooling). It's not the curriculum expert's job to appease the mass-mentality and popular opinion--it is our job to create standards and objectives that best help kids succeed. We are also loosely

              • The concensus must be among the American people or public education doesn't work. If the American people do not have a concensus as to what makes a good citizen, it is not possible to educate children in a way that most people will agree to.
                Your first sentence is exactly why public education in America is failing. What children are taught in public schools should most certainly consist of a concensus among the parents of those children. Who are you to decie what someone else's children should be taught? W
    • by Damek ( 515688 )

      Yeah. And tell it to any community effort that's actually tried to embody such values, and been regulated or budgeted out of existence, or shut down by police for not fitting into the state's recognized slots for organizations. I'm thinking of most community groups, activist groups, radical bookstores, public gardens, squatter communities, etc.

      Our state values are not our true values. Or vice versa...

      (Speaking as a New Yorker and an American)

    • by IrquiM ( 471313 )
      Like it's the current governments fault that the last one was living on credit cards? I like the direction where my current taxes are heading, and I'm not even allowed to vote!
  • by Haedrian ( 1676506 ) on Friday March 11, 2011 @09:20AM (#35451926)

    I don't think Libraries will survive for much longer. If you want a book now you can get it in a digital version, and the publishers are rather adamant about allowing their ebooks to be borrowed from the library, and pretty much anything else can be digitised and accessed online.

    So while its a nice idea to convert libraries to this sort of thing, they're not going to survive much longer in my opinion.

    • I very much hope your dismal version of the future doesn't happen. Libraries are a last refuse of a saner time when information and art was free for everyone. They are the best, maybe the only, place where you can get a large selection of books, movies, and sometimes games in their full form for free to experience and learn from without breaking the law.

      Libraries are almost certainly how the internet should have worked, but it is very far from the reality in an age of ever suffocating copyright laws, publ

      • by gl4ss ( 559668 )

        libraries as collections of books will continue to live on, people who make collections will not just disappear overnight.
        there's a bunch of _authors_ and their estates which are going to get hit more and more in the coming years though as their guaranteed yearly sales will drop(it's like a license to print money in any country with a thousand libraries).

        and about copyright. they can try to stop you from reading, they can't stop people from reading, not even by registering typewriters and regularly beating

      • by gtall ( 79522 )

        Yes, and added to that, libraries contain dictionaries with the meanings of words such as "refuse".

    • by slim ( 1652 )

      British libraries facilitate eBook lending. Now, of course you could argue this could mean physical library buildings will die out, but this is different from saying "I don't think libraries will survive for much longer".

      However, there are books that don't work as eBooks. A very easy example is children's books -- the tactile ones, the pop-up books, the ones on dribble-resistant cardboard, and so on. A good children's section in a library provides a very conducive environment for young children to explore b

    • by oneiros27 ( 46144 ) on Friday March 11, 2011 @10:02AM (#35452210) Homepage

      Just because you haven't been in a library in years doesn't mean they're dying out. With the recession, I'd say my local library is busier than ever.

      • Want to watch a movie tonight for free?
      • Need a computer to search for a job or fill out a job application?
      • Need a book for resume advice?
      • Want to try out a cookbook before you buy it as you're doing more cooking at home and need some more variety?
      • Kids need a place while their parents are working a second job? (okay, this one's a bit of a problem; not all kids are well behaved)

      All are available at your library. Some even loan out video games. (ours doesn't, but we organize video game nights for the kids; I'm working on organizing a 'video game swap' at the next one so people can trade the games they're not playing with other people)

      And those are just the reasons for the busier times; I see the same parents picking up an armload a week for their kids to read. When the kid's going through a book a night, it adds up, even at $0.99 ebooks. And this way, you don't have to worry about the kid breaking a $100+ ebook reader, or get one for each kid.

      If anything, the reason they're not going to survive is because of budget cuts due to loss of tax revenue. There's been a concerted push to get politicians to back up when they say 'We support education' to fund the libraries, or explain what they really mean is 'We support schools', even when most of their time is wasted teaching to standardized tests.

      • My local library is composed of a number of ancient books held together by cellotape, the only computer is used to search for books, and you can't find anything in there which isn't a book.

        So yeah I guess your mileage may vary, but except for the University Library (which works rather differently), all the libraries over here are like that. Used to love going when I was younger and there was no internet.

        • by slim ( 1652 )

          This is one of those threads where it's worth people noting what country (or even which state) they're in.

          British libraries tend to be fairly adequately stocked. If they don't have a book you're looking for, you can search their catalogue and order it from a different branch within the region. If you want a specific book they don't own, they'll consider buying it.

          So, it seems like we're pretty lucky here. However, the current government is doing their best to wreck it all with funding cuts (while claiming a

          • Our libraries (Prince George's County, Maryland, USA) are like that ... it's actually a county library system, but they can either get books from another branch in the system, or put in an ILL (Inter-Library Loan) request to get it from one of the neighboring counties, some of the public universities, etc. Also, not all of the branches have the same books; They all have the basic stuff (novels, DVDs, kids books), but when it comes time to do serious research, the smaller libraries (like the one I volunteer

            • Our libraries (Prince George's County, Maryland, USA) are like that ... it's actually a county library system, but they can either get books from another branch in the system, or put in an ILL (Inter-Library Loan) request to get it from one of the neighboring counties, some of the public universities, etc. Also, not all of the branches have the same books; They all have the basic stuff (novels, DVDs, kids books), but when it comes time to do serious research, the smaller libraries (like the one I volunteer

        • by s73v3r ( 963317 )

          Sucky. The local libraries in places where I've lived (Medium town South Dakota and Orange County, CA) have all had computers with internet access (since internet was somewhat popular, around late 90s), and recently have offered free wi-fi.

      • What about "want to read a really good book but don't want to pay anything for it"?

        That's what I use the library for. Why buy a book you'll read probably once, when you can just go to the library (mine is actually closer than the closest bookstore) and check it out. Read it. Return it. How hard is that?

    • My children 10, 10, and 13 spend hours a day, several days a week, in one of our four local libraries. They browse the magazines and encyclopedic references, read the graphic novels and manga that are too expensive to buy, try out books that are "above their level" that their schools don't make readily available, and generally just read the hell out of everything they find. The local libraries are part of an even ginormously larger library system with shared resources searchable and order-able through a

      • My children 10, 10, and 13 spend hours a day, several days a week, in one of our four local libraries.

        Thank you for raising children that appreciate knowledge. Too many parents don't seem to give a crap these days.

    • Of course, that digital version can be edited to only say things that are acceptable today. That means that if a politician writes a book and then rises to significant power and some of the things that he/she wrote in that book are now a liability, those things can be made to have never been written. This is just one example of the problem with all information being in digital format. The same thing can be done to historical facts that become inconvenient to those in power.
      Even if you somehow maintain a c
    • by mellon ( 7048 )

      I think you're missing the point. It is precisely because of this phenomenon that the idea of using libraries as hackerspaces makes sense. We still need the function that the library provides, even if the medium through which that function is delivered has changed. Growing hackerspaces in public libraries is a way to save them.

      As for what publishers want, are we (wo)men or are we mice? If what they want is contrary to the public interest, then this is just more nail in the coffin of traditional publ

    • If you want a book now you can get it in a digital version

      Two points: First, I can "easily" get it in digital version subject to the publisher's whim, and on the publisher's terms (which are subject to change at any time), and assuming someone bothered to digitize it. That's great, until it's not. Second, *I* can easily get e-books because I can afford a computer and $50 a month for broadband access. However, not everyone is so fortunate. Internet access is expensive to someone who's paid subsistence wag

    • by geekoid ( 135745 )

      Yes they will. For quite some time. The philosophical reasons for libraries are stronger then the current and temporary eBook hassle.

    • I don't think Libraries will survive for much longer.

      With the current climate of slashing funding for anything remotely intellectual set by the newly elected morons in Washington, I'd say libraries are doomed.

    • Contrary to your limited viewpoint, a public library isn't just a place to lend dusty old books. There are uncountable resources in your public library you will never find online. Beyond literature, reference and information, a library is a public service to the community and an undeniable symbol of civilization. It is a social entity of the likes that Facebook (and social web garbage) and idealized digital libraries could never compete with nor replace. A public library is community and serves specifically
  • What type of country you want? do you want a country of consumers, or a country of producers?
    Do you have a big population that you want to be producers?, If you have choose a country of consumers, but you don't have a solution to give everyone jobs, you have choose unemployment and discontent.

    • And you can't have producers without consumers to justify their production.
      • by lwsimon ( 724555 )

        Sure you can - you'd just be a net exporter.

        How many factory workers in the Foxconn factories in China can afford the iPad 2 that they make every day?

      • by mellon ( 7048 )

        Um, traditionally we consume *and* produce. That's how economies work. The tragedy of recent times is that a lot of what's produced is garbage whose only purpose is to justify a salary for a consumer, often while creating a burden on society that is much greater than the salary being paid. But we can't put people on the dole--oh no, that would make them lazy.

        • My point was that it has to be balanced. One person today can be more productive than ever before, thanks to modern industrial technology, automation and communications - and if one person can do more, it means less are needed to do the same amount, which means severe unemployment. The only way that has been avoided so far is to hugely increase consumption to match: People today, espicially in western countries, live a lifestyle of waste that would make their ancestors ashamed. We throw away clothes with a
      • by geekoid ( 135745 )

        Producers, by there nature, ARE consumer; where as consumers don't need to be producers

  • And that sort of environment is not conducive to creating things. While I think Make magazine has a point, I prefer that maker spaces stay semi-private so this does not happen to them. I also want to make sure that other government agencies don't feel that it's their right to start sending the overflow of what they have to deal with to the maker spaces I enjoy.

    • by dkleinsc ( 563838 ) on Friday March 11, 2011 @10:14AM (#35452294) Homepage

      That phenomenon is hardly the fault of either homeless or public libraries.

      Yes, homeless hang around libraries. It's a comfortable temperature, there's things to do other than beg for food, there are bathrooms available, and as a member of the public they have every right to be there. And they might well be taking the time to study some new job skills and the like in order to break out of the poverty they're in.

      And from the public library's standpoint, their job is to serve whatever members of the public walk in the front door, whoever they are (provided that they aren't trying to do anything illegal). Those same folks that you'd love to avoid are patrons of the library just like you.

      I also want to make sure that other government agencies don't feel that it's their right to start sending the overflow of what they have to deal with to the maker spaces I enjoy.

      It's public. That means that just because you enjoy those places doesn't mean you have any more right to be there than anyone else.

      • That phenomenon is hardly the fault of either homeless or public libraries.

        Indeed it is not. And that makes libraries an environment that is neither conducive to studying or to making things. Therefor I wish maker spaces to remain semi-private. I don't want to turn them into public resources like libraries are.

        I agree completely with all the points you make. My point is this makes it so libraries cannot effectively serve the mission of educating people or providing a collaborative space for people to make stuff.

      • by geekoid ( 135745 )

        Mostly like they are mentally ill, or an addict. Yes, there are exceptions but they are in the minority.

        Reagan killed all the help for mentally ill people.
        Reagan's dramatic increase* in the "war on Drugs" has made it impossible for people addicted to drugs to reasonably get help.

        What we have no is one of the only really things that trickled doesn't from his presidency.

        IN my experience with the homeless, the ones that aren't mentally ill or an addict are the ones that make an effort to not smell Those homele

      • And they might well be taking the time to study some new job skills and the like in order to break out of the poverty they're in.

        In fact, less than 5% of the general population suffers from mental illness; estimates [calpsych.org] suggest that 20-40% of the homeless population suffers from some form of mental illness. Libraries are not mental health clinics. Librarians are not trained & certified psychologists and psychiatrists. And finally, many of the homeless people suffering from mental illness are not just "d

        • By all means, get the homeless the help they need, mental illness treatment or otherwise. And I'm somebody who fairly regularly volunteers my time and money to help do just that. Also important on that front is better VA funding, since far too many of the folks on the streets are veterans who were denied proper treatment.

          I'm just saying that you can't legitimately turn them away at other public spaces just because they're using stuff that you want to use too, and that as far as places to be for the other 60

    • by sgtrock ( 191182 )

      Where do you live that this is such a problem? I've never seen that kind of issue in any library in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul for those outside the U.S.) area. And we certainly have our share of homeless here, even with winters that can sometimes be brutal.

      • The Twin Cities is very non-conducive to homelessness. The bitter winters set it up so that if you're homeless in Minneapolis you have to at least be able to follow the rules of living in a shelter or you die. I know. I've lived there. It is a very minor problem in Minneapolis' public libraries, but it is not that bad.

        I live in Seattle now, and it's a much worse problem here, though it's still reasonable to go into a library if you adopt a certain set of behavioral strategies designed to deal with it. I hav

    • by Hatta ( 162192 )

      The proper solution to homeless people hanging around libraries is to provide better services specifically to the homeless. There should be shelters and mental health clinics available. But I guess we'd rather give tax breaks to the rich.

      • I am not convinced that there is any amount of money that would solve the problem. And whether or not some solution exists is completely orthogonal to the question of whether or not libraries make good maker spaces anyway. The fact is, currently, libraries make a very poor place for learning.

    • by geekoid ( 135745 )

      What do you base that on?

      I have never seen a homeless person in a library, and we go fairly regularly.

      Game stop, OTOH, always has some homeless person playing a demo.

  • I made the mistake of taking my kids to the local public library right when it opened one morning. The local shelter is across the street, so all the homeless head over the the library for Heat/AC and internets.

    I would say unfettered free internet access for homeless seems to be the new library mission.

    But I really don't have a problem with that. It keeps them off the street, it keeps them away from local businesses, it keeps them away from substance abuse a bit.

    Personally, I would make internet access in

    • by IrquiM ( 471313 )
      While other countries tries to solve the problems for the homeless by giving them a place to live etc, the US obviously focuses directly on education!
  • Libraries are pre-positioned all over our cities, and pretty soon they're not going to be full of bookshelves. Costs will go way down (think $10 e-readers), assuming the publishing industry doesn't win their fight to create kill switch licenses (see boycottharpercollins.com for details there).

    This is a huge opportunity.

    This is a chance to reinvent a great public space into a pillar of the new peer to peer economy: hacker space, certainly, but also coworking space, peer education space, a meetup space, a pl

  • With things the way they are now. The public library is one of the few outposts of acceptance and quiet for extreme introverts like me and I don't buy the argument that soon they are going to be full of e-readers and everything will be on the web. There is advancement in technology but there will always be applying the best technology for the application. I'm sorry, but I will never take an e-reader to the beach with me. Sand, sun and water don't play well with it. A paperback book is going to persist forev

  • The only reason libraries are tolerated by the state is their abject passivism.

    Turn libraries into bastions of activism and they'll be regulated/budget-cut out of existence, just like all other activist spaces that achieve some sort of legitimacy are eventually regulated out of existence or have rents raised beyond reasonable levels.

    If our society really held the values that people give lip service to when they talk about libraries, they would already be bastions of activism. Complaints in this very thread

    • The only reason libraries are tolerated by the state is their abject passivism.

      Turn libraries into bastions of activism and they'll be regulated/budget-cut out of existence, just like all other activist spaces that achieve some sort of legitimacy are eventually regulated out of existence or have rents raised beyond reasonable levels.

      If our society really held the values that people give lip service to when they talk about libraries, they would already be bastions of activism. Complaints in this very thread about them being "daytime shelters for the homeless" reveal exactly the opposite: what people want is a "free bookstore, but keep those other people out, please." Values of community, shared investment in education and the future and all that jazz, that necessarily implies open to all, including those nasty poor people.

      Wasn't always like that. Check out the history of the oldest public library [wikipedia.org] :

      "Chetham's Library in Manchester, England is the oldest free public reference library in the United Kingdom.[1] Chetham's Hospital, which contains both the library and Chetham's School of Music, was established in 1653 under the will of Humphrey Chetham (1580–1653), for the education of "the sons of honest, industrious and painful parents",[1] and a library for the use of scholars. The library has been in continuous use since

    • by tnk1 ( 899206 )

      You can hold values as important and still not want to have to spend extended periods of time with homeless people who may have poor hygiene and are quite possibly mentally ill (a major reason many are homeless).

      Also, most people hold that libraries have value as providing public education and resources, not activism. If they became "centers of activism", I'd vote to cut them out too. I don't want my taxes paying for someone to be an activist. If I want activism, I'll damn well donate to a political part

  • by khallow ( 566160 ) on Friday March 11, 2011 @11:16AM (#35452862)
    There's no reason we couldn't create a specialized non-profit whose purpose is to provide workshop space for DIY. You don't have to repurpose existing public entities who don't have the funding, space, or expertise to implement this plan.
  • by peter303 ( 12292 ) on Friday March 11, 2011 @12:35PM (#35453728)
    Most of the towns around me have cut hours severely and even closed branches. This is a cruel irony because many unemployed people have stopped paying for home internet in favor of public internet. Many libraries are funded by property taxes, which havent gone up much lately.
  • This is "Make" magazine again, the O'Reilly publishing/convention empire's attempt to 0wn the do-it-yourself movement by turning it into a cult. Looks like they're now targeting libraries.

    I have a membership at TechShop, and use it regularly. TechShop is not a "hacker space". It's a machine shop. (Silicon Valley has a "hacker space", called Hacker Dojo. I took a good machine learning class there. Hacker Dojo is a place where people with no office go to work, like Starbucks.) The point of TechShop is tha

  • I'd LOVE to run a tech shop, or something very like it North of Seattle. http://lastonk.blogspot.com/2011/02/tech-shop.html [blogspot.com] Unless someone drops a few bags of money in my lap though... it will be at least five more years before I can afford to open one. In the meantime, I'm learning business management, and reading everything I can on the subject, and pinching pennies preparing for when I can do this.

  • They are going to move to digital media as well has hard media.
    You will get a copy sent to your ereader, and in a specific period, it will self return. You will probably have the ability to extend the self return data twice.

    It's not really rocket surgery.

    All that assume that the republican won't pull funding from libraries.

Old programmers never die, they just hit account block limit.

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