Sunday 29 January 2012

Diary date: Saturday 4 February, Friern Barnet library march

Via the Save Friern Barnet Library campaign...

Click here for leaflet advertising the "I Red heart FB Library" event for National Libraries Day, 4th February 2012 at Friern Barnet Library.

We will be gathering outside the Old Town Hall (corner of Friern Barnet Road/Lane) at 2pm (prompt) and in a big group we'll be walking to the library, displaying hearts and banners showing our love for our library.

You're all welcome to join us!

Please circulate this to friends, blog, facebook, tweet about it and please post the flyer on your website!

Email: savefriernbarnetlibrary@gmail.com

Twitter: @SaveFriernBtLib

Website: https://sites.google.com/site/savefriernbarnetlibrary/

Facebook group: facebook.com/SaveFriernBarnetLiby

4 comments:

David Duff said...

If you love it that much, and if you get more than three men and a dog, perhaps you could do something really useful and have a whip round for library funds.

Why on earth you suppose that the tens of thousands of Barnet residents who never set foot in a library should pay for your pleasures, I do not know. They don't ask you to subsidise their cinema visits or football games.

Citizen Barnet said...

Hello, Duffer.

There is a kernel of sense to what you say, although it is only a kernel, and your overall point is rot.

Your remarks hint at the historical aspect to this. Libraries were provided as public services from fairly early on to educate people who didn't have access to learning otherwise.

Although the vast majority of people have access to learning now, libraries still fill a useful gap for many: those who don't have computers, those who can't afford loads of books. Librarians provide expertise on which books are available and buy in stocks.

There are the reference facilities and expertise.

There's a quiet place to study!

Football games once didn't cost much to attend; now they often do. That's not the fault of libraries!

We probably value sport in a different way to the way we did in the past. For a start-off, people were more active so didn't need to do sport as much as people do now. In fact, they were probably in much more need of a good physical rest most of them time.

Watching sport as a leisure activity, I'm guessing, has been pretty constant since the days when football was invented and libraries were built. Most blokes do it and probably always have done, since there was something to watch!

The same holds now for quite a few women - probably more women have the leisure time to do this now than in the past, and it is certainly more socially acceptable than it would have been even 50 years ago.

There is every case for subsidised sport, in fact! Certainly for participating in sport.

Cinemas are a more recent invention. The heyday would have been from the 1930s-1950s. Going to see films also was once much cheaper. It's quite an investment now!

There is a case for subsidised showings of many sorts of films, for subsidised arts in general.

We need libraries for education, sport for health and entertainment, and cinemas for leisure and education. Public money for all of them would be money well spent in my view.

David Duff said...

From little kernels great oaks do grow, or something like that!

But, God almighty, I was being ironic about subsidising 'footie' and the 'flicks' and now you are advocating it!

Aaaaaaargh! Nurse! NURSE! Get me out of this loony-bin!

Citizen Barnet said...

"But, God almighty, I was being ironic about subsidising 'footie' and the 'flicks' and now you are advocating it!"

You see, DD, I am always a jump ahead of you. Give up now.