Modern liberalism has its roots in the Age of Enlightenment and rejected many foundational assumptions that dominated most earlier theories of government, such as the Divine Right of Kings, hereditary status, established religion, and economic protectionism. Liberals argued that economic systems based on free markets are more efficient and generate more prosperity.

The first modern liberal state was the United States of America, founded on the principle that “all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to insure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

From that list:

Urban Fiction: Stories about the bright lights of the big city

Block, Lawrence: Matthew Scudder Series

Connelly, Michael: Harry Bosch Series

Dreiser, Theodore: Sister Carrie

McBain, Ed: 87th Precinct Series

I’m surprised Parker, Robert B. Spencer series wasn’t listed!

Anyway, how would you like to visit that library and ask for Urban Fiction, and be given THAT list? What would you think of the Library staff there? Would you go back?

Weird.
(oh, to find that list, type in the heading they give on Google. It will take you there.)

What’s the point of redefining the library if it merely means the new poeple only come for these new features, demand these features ot be increased, and then demand that the “Library” part of the name be removed altogether along with the books and replaced with “Community Center” – because its no longer Just a place for books.

I subscribe to the “there’s time and place for everything” maxim; the library is a place for learning at any time. Our society places such a low value on learning that now places of learning including schools are having to redefine their roles and programs in a way that keep the people engaged with the process. In turn, we se these places losing their role within society. Libraries are losing their role in soceity – because it will not take long before the library is declared nothing mroe then a publicly funded video arcade/cinema/cafe, all of which are already well represented around town by a number of other organizations. If the town is small enough, and the local theater closes because they have to compete with the local library [in towns so small they get the feature films almost in time for it to come out on DVD], I fear we will see the public become resentful or even scronful of the library. Ugh.

As for this violent trash increasing people’s reading… I doubt it. Is reading trash better than reading nothing at all? Maybe, but I highly doubt that the people who read it wouldn’t also pick up a trashy magazine somewhere else (therefore, they’d do reading at a similar level) and I highly doubt these trashy books are TEACHING the patrons to read. They’re not increasing literacy.

You’ve just confirmed for me why I so rarely venture into the public library; everything I’ve seen since leaving the ivory towers of a major university just disappoints. I want more from my local library than what I can buy at Wal-Mart or borrow from a neighbor. Granted, I enjoy a trashy novel now and then, but I can pay for my own guilty pleasures – that’s what Amazon is for, right?

Then again, there is SOMETHING to be said for basic reading skills. Otherwise, we would have to spend 90% of our time explaining things like how to use a toaster, instead of having heady debates on religion, politics, and philosophy–

Wait, this is my life; I’m a mother and a technical writer.

Pass me the trashy romance while Calgon takes me away…