Secrets of the City

“differ significantly”
how so?

The county libraries are popular libraries. They have lots of paperbacks and top 10 titles. The city libraries are research libraries. They have large collections and specialty items. They are also repository libraries.

I’ve been a supporter on MPL for a long time and have been frustrated by some of the decisions made by the board. They have a great new library and space for the community but they continue to have difficulty building a strong relationship with the legislature. I think a merger would be a good thing, I just hope it doesn’t hold HCL back. HCL has their act together with programs, outreach, technology, and support. Hopefully the positive seeds from HCL can be transplanted in MPL.

Great, now where in the hell that they’re going to put the new Planetarium in Downtown Minneapolis? LOL

didn’t we discuss just this sort of idea on mnspeak a while back?

I went to the downtown library for a seminar last Saturday, and I was amazed to see people lined up waiting for it to open, as if it was Black Friday at Target or something. I wasn’t sure if it was because the new library is so popular, or it’s weekend hours are so abysmal.

First, let me say I live in St paul. i love St Paul. But the St paul library system? My experience is with the Riverview branch which is near my house. A beautiful building. Great staff that is friendly and helpful. But incredibly small. One has to order books to it since they have less books than your average B daltons. So, instead, I generally pack my kids in the car and head out to The Roseville Library which is part of the Ramsey County Library. Great collection. Great childrens area. If my wife is with me we can take turns with the kids in the childrens area while the other spouse browses. And did i mention that there is a coffee shop.

phaid – I’m curious why you’d drive all the way to Roseville when the Dakota County Library – Wentworth is just a short distance away (on Wentworth, just east of Robert)? No Dunn Bros though.

I believe SPPL’s philosophy is to maintain the three Carnegie branches (Arlington Hills, Riverview, & St. Anthony Park) so there’s a convenient library in the neighborhood for those who are unable to drive to distant suburb.

That reminds me, I need more page views now that google will be “rewarding creativity” over at YouTube.

Check out my video of the GRAND OPENING of the CENTRAL LIBRARY from last spring.

I was wondering if anyone would catch that the Dakota libraries are closer. And there are two reasons we go to Roseville– our library card for St Paul works there (does it work in Dakota county) and a branch of teachers federated credit union is near the Roseville library ( the other nearest branch is in either apple valley or golden valley).

There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who buy books, and those who expect others to buy books for them.

There’s all sorts of great binaries, Maz. Fit/disabled, rich/poor, materialistic/unmaterialistic. You identified the distinction, but haven’t addressed the logic. We all know where you stand, just call ‘em socialists and get it over with.

maza, when you went to college, did you buy all the books in the library that you used, or didn’t you use the library?

I paid for the right to use that library. And I only used those library books that were reading assignments. I didn’t view the library as a free source of entertainment.

There are two types of people in this world: People who make sense, and people who make crazy, hypocritical shit up.

Actually mazasapa i both buy books and use libraries. But some of us just have a flexible world view and aren’t controlled by our spasming knee.

Actually mazasapa i both buy books and use libraries. But some of us just have a flexible world view and aren’t controlled by our spasming knee.

god forbid there be any free educational resources for the poor! they might just climb their way out of the gutter and make good on the american dream!

not that it’s likely to happen with all the other odds stacked against them, but for someone who spouts a constant line of horseshit about free market capitalism and how you have to pull yourself up by the bootstraps, one would think you’d at least shut up and let people have their libraries so they could make an attempt to better themselves.

One man’s spasming knee is another man’s principles.

god forbid there be any free educational resources for the poor! they might just climb their way out of the gutter and make good on the american dream!

They already have access to free educational resources: their shitty Minneapolis school.

DFL forbid we let them go somewhere else.

Uhh, ever heard of adult immigrants or maybe the illiterate? They’re too old for public schools, so what are they supposed to do?

Ass.

Go check out the brand new multimillion dollar Rondo Community Outreach Library sometime. Paid for with exorbitant property taxes that middleclass St. Paulites can barely afford, it’s down in my old neighborhood. You won’t have any trouble finding a book or using a computer because on any given day, about 6 people use the place.

And if you think people should be done learning when they finish pubilc school, well …

Benjamin Franklin considered public libraries essential to creating an informed participatory democracy, which is why he essentially created he modern library. If our conservative friends consider it a waste of taxpayer money, well, let the argue with Franklin.

I always wonder why they claim the title “conservative” since they have such little interest in actually conserving anything except their paycheck.

Franklin’s dead.

Touché.

Oh, I’m sorry, I meant douché.

heh.

god forbid there be any free educational resources for the poor! they might just climb their way out of the gutter and make good on the american dream!

Yeah…like this guy did.

Oh, I’m sorry, I meant douché.

Ooh, I’m gonna have to use that.

That’s not fair grote.

the only thing fair about me is my skin…and right now I’m kinda tan.

point to max for that one.

Touche douche. Sounds like the next up-scale restaurant to close.

There are more then two types of people in the world.