Doncaster Town Centre

[BobG]

It's one of the really grievous wounds inflicted by austerity that libraries have been allowed to rot for a good few years now. They're both an easy target and a social mistake - according to the tenets of today's Toryism. Can't have state provided social welfare can we? Libraries are in a disastrous state nationwide and they're getting worse every year.

BobG

[Bentley Bullet]

Are libraries as important in terms of usefulness as they used to be before the internet etc though?

[Muttley]

Are libraries as important in terms of usefulness as they used to be before the internet etc though?

Good question, don't know the answer but this summer I used Doncaster central library on a few occasions as a quiet place to go to prepare for job interviews etc and it struck me how few books were in there, it basically seems to be a place to go and use the Internet for free   

The exception to this is the local studies area which is well used, not least by TRB.

I believe there is a proposal to relocate the library to the museum, which would probably further lessen its usage.

[LongbridgeMGRover]

I see libraries, museums and theatres in a similar light. Community assets, multi-use and inspirational. Maybe the words are outdated, in France 'bibliotheques'(book places) have become 'mediatheques' denoting a broader use, and we have forgotten that a museum is where a muse, an inspiration, is located.

On more mundane matters, there is a link between Doncaster and Birmingham libraries.

Doncaster Library is an example of the Chuckle Brothers early work, as the original white tiles started falling off soon after it was finished, hence the brown cladding.

Birmingham Library was never finished properly and  was designed by John Madin to be clad in marble, in which it would have looked magnificent.

But the council decided to save money by having it finished in bare concrete which in time looked awful.

[Sprotyrover]

Apparently  they one they demolished in St George gate was a beautiful Carnigie library, it went with the White Lion Pub, Waverly Inn and Guild hall.

[Copps is Magic]

There's a myriad of ways in which public libraries can be and are used. The larger ones in bigger cities are always jam-packed. Doncaster central library, for example, is used to house a citizens advice bureau desk and, as someone already mentioned, it helps those in poverty to access to internet. It's also used as a study space and as one of the best sources for local studies enthusiasts. They also organise a lot of event for the old folks which is going to become more important in the future as we face an ageing population and increased levels of social isolation.

They have to get imaginative in what they do and what they offer but no one has put any imagination into Donny library for decades.

[The Red Baron]

Are libraries as important in terms of usefulness as they used to be before the internet etc though?

Good question, don't know the answer but this summer I used Doncaster central library on a few occasions as a quiet place to go to prepare for job interviews etc and it struck me how few books were in there, it basically seems to be a place to go and use the Internet for free   

The exception to this is the local studies area which is well used, not least by TRB.

I believe there is a proposal to relocate the library to the museum, which would probably further lessen its usage.

Indeed. I could spend my life in there, only emerging occasionally for sustenance.