Special Library Edition of Random Articles - RAW 160506

This week's Random Articles from across the Web is dedicated to Libraries.

I love libraries and while they have the reputation of being fusty, dusty and stodgy, many are walking alongside us into the 21st Century and beyond.

Did you know the Library of Congress Houses the largest publicly available collection of comic books in the United States? Well now you do and you'll find more interesting things in the following articles.  So sit back with your favourite beverage and enjoy a look at some amazing libraries.

When you have the time don't forget to read a non-book related post by me over on Medium.com called Re-Thinking Your Fear Of Technology 

Has the Library Outlived its Usefulness in the Age of Internet? You’d be Surprised

U.S. institutions of higher education and U.S. local governments are under extraordinary pressure to cut costs and eliminate from institutional or governmental ledgers any expenses whose absence would cause little or no pain.
In this political climate, academic and public libraries may be in danger. The existence of vast amounts of information – a lot of it free – on the Internet might suggest that the library has outlived its usefulness.
But has it? The numbers tell a very different story. Read more...

Most Satisfying Job for Book Lovers? Librarian at "Loneliest Library"

Every one who's been to the "loneliest library" would envy Mr. Meng's job: the librarian.
The one-year-old library boasts an exclusive section of the beach near Nandaihe in north China's Bohai Sea rim. Though quite far from the urban area, it is a perfect place for readers and sunrise lovers. Read more...

A Railway Station Turned into a Modern Library and Cultural Center

In September 2014, a deteriorating building of Rumia train station was reopened as Stacja Kultura (Station Culture).
Station Culture combines the functions of a railway station, public library, and cultural center, serving both the local community and tourists traveling to Polish seaside. Read more...

Six Cool Facts About the Library of Congress

We all know that it’s big, important, and crucial to our culture. After that, the details get vague. The truth is that the Library of Congress has a fascinating history, as well as a pretty cool present, and we’d like you to be as informed about the library as those that use it are about the world we live in. Read on to find out how the Library of Congress became the library of the people, and how it literally rose from the ashes and became an institutional gem in our nation’s history. Read more...

The Secret World of Membership Libraries

Public libraries are a relatively new phenomenon. Before the 1880s, when Andrew Carnegie started funding the more than 1,600 library buildings that bear his name, most libraries in America were subscription-based, with members funding and shaping the collections. As free public libraries sprouted up across the United States, membership libraries mostly died off, but 19 non-profit membership libraries still exist, and are reinventing themselves as cultural centers and the coolest coworking spaces you could dream of.  Read more...

You Could Look It Up by Jack Lynch review – Search Engines Can’t Do Everything

For some years now, the most satisfyingly passive-aggressive way of responding to a factual query on social media has been to reply with a link from the website “Let Me Google That For You”. On opening the link, your pesterer sees an animation of their exact query being typed into the Google search field, the “I’m feeling lucky” box being clicked and a page showing what is almost certainly the answer to their question. It is a sadistically elaborate vehicle for a simple message: you are wasting both our time by asking a person something, when you could ask a search engine. Read more...

The Oldest Libraries Around the World

It’s no secret around here that we’re a little bit obsessed with libraries — their collections, stunning designs, and sometimes playful interiors. After reading news this week about the restoration of Morocco’s Al Qarawiyyin Library, featured below, we knew it was time to take a trip around the world to highlight some of the oldest libraries in existence — repositories of ancient art and architecture, history, and prized books. Here are ten of our favorites. Read more...

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