Thread

Japan's book scene is moving from bookstores to libraries

241 points · 113 comments · herbertl

akman · 1789595265 · focus · HN ↗
As the author noted, I see libraries becoming more and more centers of community, notably in the Bay Area (California, USA). Just check out the events at all of the Santa Clara County library system (8 libraries that share books): <a href="https://sccl.bibliocommons.com/v2/events?_gl=1*11u0hec*_ga*MTI0MTAxODk0NS4xNzg2NTEyMjY1*_ga_G99DMMNG39*czE3ODk1OTQ5MTMkbzMkZzAkdDE3ODk1OTQ5MTQkajU5JGwwJGgw*_ga_C5XQHLX1NN*czE3ODk1OTQ5MTMkbzMkZzAkdDE3ODk1OTQ5MTQkajU5JGwwJGgw*_ga_C79ES1D7Q4*czE3ODcyODU5NjUkbzIkZzAkdDE3ODcyODU5NjUkajYwJGwwJGgw" rel="nofollow">https://sccl.bibliocommons.com/v2/events?_gl=1*11u0hec*_ga*M...
Many events aren't even book related-- see events for Lego building, homework help, even Dungeons and Dragons events.
I wonder if there's a resurgence across the world where libraries are places of community sharing.
1. carabiner · 1789595571 · focus · HN ↗
  In Seattle they're mostly homeless shelters.
  1. popalchemist · 1789596130 · focus · HN ↗
    In LA, it's about 50/50. But in case you aren't aware, this is one of the purposes of libraries.
    TulliusCicero · 1789598023 · focus · HN ↗
    It really shouldn't be. We should have dedicated shelters for that.
    Relying on libraries to be de facto homeless shelters is bad for everyone compared to the alternative of dedicated facilities. It's worse for homeless people, worse for the library and staff, and worse for patrons.
    bobthepanda · 1789612857 · focus · HN ↗
    The problem is that we’ve wound up in an unhappy place due to the weird perverse incentives of ideology. Taking homeless people off the street, whether to a hospital or jail, costs a lot of money; so we lack something to do in a climate where a good chunk of the populace is rabidly against paying more money for anything.
    TulliusCicero · 1789628057 · focus · HN ↗
    I think you're right that people are against these things, but wrong about the reasons.
    Taking homeless people to jail because they're homeless just seems stupid and pointless, not to mention harmful to the person going to jail.
    Shelters have the issue where people don't want them near where they live (for often justifiable reasons) but obviously they have to go somewhere.
    OroPla · 1789644224 · focus · HN ↗
    Don't we already have rehabilitation centers? I definitely think that you have to take homeless people being a nuisance off the streets against their will.
    There's already plenty of invisible homeless people living out of a car that shower in the gym. They aren't a public nuisance and there should be structures where someone like that can get help from.
    But the actual homeless problem are the drug addicts and beggars that are a public nuisance. There's no solution to that problem other than moving them against their will, is there?
    TulliusCicero · 1789939425 · focus · HN ↗
    I totally agree. If homelessness is causing you to become a public nuisance (meaning lawbreaking) then clearly something has to be done. It should be a choice of help or jail, where obviously we'd prefer they get help, but jail is the stick.
    It shouldn't be a crime exactly to set up a tent in a park because you're homeless, but if you then refuse to get help from society to fix the underlying issue, that's not acceptable. Can't have it both ways.
    bobthepanda · 1789939440 · focus · HN ↗
    Generally speaking, there aren’t enough.
    If you wanted to find a shelter bed for every single person on the street in a major city like San Francisco right now, that’s not possible. And that’s just the physical space, not even the medical staff or caseworkers you would want to handle those. And you need those in jail too, because corrections officers can’t and don’t want to manage mental health episodes.
    Californian jails were at 200%+ capacity as recently as ten years ago until courts ordered that constituted cruel and inhumane punishment. Now most counties are around max capacity.
    In some states like Washington, mental health is so under capacity that even the willing do not have spaces to be admitted into, even accounting for the people whose insurance would pay for something like that.

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