http://www.guardian.co.uk/local-government-network/2011/jun/30/libraries-book-swapping-clubs
This article is about introducing booksharing as an alternative to a proper library service. Sounds great, doesn't? But still, still, what libraries - and librarians - bring to the public is everything which surrounds books and reading: selection, a chance to talk about what you love, advice on finding info, shared public spaces. This is how we share cultural capital, and a reduction in these shared public spaces is what makes booksharing a poorer idea. How will people access booksharing? What physical or technological, easily accessible place will allow the sharing of cultural capital? Reducing the whole idea of libraries - that imagination can be reproduced, shared, and used to enrich lives - seems to me ill-advised. Wankers.
