It reminds of one of the later scenes from Secret Life of Walter Mitty when Sean (photographer) decides not to take a picture of the elusive snow leopard in front of them.
Walter Mitty: Are you going to take it?
Sean O'Connell: Sometimes I don't. If I like a moment, for me, personally, I don't like to have the distraction of the camera. I just want to stay in it.
Very true. If everyone on the planet was allowed to walk over the great pyramids of Egypt, they would be pounded into dust. Sometimes it is better just to observe and move on.
When visiting Delft in the Netherlands I was extremely jealous that the library there not only had a cafe, but that the cafe served wine and the whole place was open until like 11pm. Haven’t encountered anything like that in the US.
One thing that I don't like about American culture is that people are a little too hesitant about adding 'retail' into publicly-owned spaces. There's a reflexive attitude of that being A Bad Thing, even though most Americans who visit, say, Japan, really appreciate the various shops and kiosks they have in transit stations over there.
I also really enjoyed in Germany when at the top of some hike there'd be an inn+restaurant, something Americans seem to treat as nearly anathema.
Given the rest of American culture is intensely commercialised, I can see why there is a desire to protect the remaining non-commercial spaces.
My local library has an indepenently run coffee kiosk out front, the library own the facility and lease it to the operator, and presumably have some lease terms about allowable signage and branding.
I'd probably feel differently if it was a mega franchise like Starbucks or McCafe right at the entrance of a civic building.
Near where I live, there is a library facility that has a cafe. However, it's not a regular book-lending library... it's run by the country library system, but it's actually a free coworking space. They even have a music room with 4 stringed instruments, a computer, and an electronic drum kit as well as a podcasting studio.
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): 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.
There's often smelly people napping in Sweden. I presume their housing situation isn't the best. Or they are not mentally capable of cleaning themselves.
There's definitely some of it happening in Australia. I wouldn't regard libraries as the safest of places. I had a period where I tried working from there on my laptop, before realizing I was incredibly naive and there were a lot of homeless and mentally ill people there. Took me a while to realize why people would tell me to avoid the men's toilets in the library as well.
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.
Libraries have always had events and activities related to books and other things not book related.
People are just now noticing them. This is a great thing and I hope it sticks.
I believe people are getting sick of every interaction being monetized and are finally seeking out spaces where you can learn and interact with others without that threat.
A wild take I have seen was "Japan is the white mans Wakanda". It is a rough way of saying something important.
There are many parts of Japanese culture that is seen as desirable and aspirational to others. The sense of social cohesion and politeness that is projected is seen as a good thing. Yes, the reality is more rough than is projected, Japan has its issues just like everywhere else. But when looking in from the outside, there are a lot of things that can be seen as goals for others to achieve.
This is the same reason why we are seeing a lot more positive takes on China nowadays. The image of a society that is progressing in a way considered desirable. It grabs folks attention, there is also the novelty of it all as it these of nations that look similar but different.
The most interesting thing in the article to me is that there was a dual library/bookstore, and that it’s privately owned. I don’t think I’ve encountered a library that wasn’t publicly owned in the US.
Claiming Takeo City Library is a private operation is factually incorrect because it is strictly "publicly owned" by the city government. In fact, the city owns the land and building, and pays the private company, Culture Convenience Club (CCC), a management fee from local tax revenues to run the public library. Conversely, CCC pays monthly rent to the city to operate the Starbucks and bookstore inside. Since the entire facility is publicly owned and funded by taxpayers, CCC has zero ownership and is merely a contracted operator.
I recently had a similar episode as the author in another east Asia country: Taiwan.
Found myself in Taitung (along the much less densely populated, remote east coast) with several inches of rain forecast. Spent the day at the Taitung County Public Library [0] and it was a very pleasant public space which had more tourists than patrons!
If you are, I suspect you already do this: when you travel abroad, you find yourself walking into a local bookstore.
I do it everywhere, not only in Japan but also abroad. My shelves hold some Chinese and Russian books even though I cannot read a word of them. A bookstore is one of the best places to understand the local culture: what people there are curious about, what they worry about, what they love.
This sounds more like a fetish for physical books to me? I find it bizarre myself, books are just knowledge containers, if you can't read them...what's the point?
I do something similar with boardgames. I like to import foreign language games or pick them when traveling. They don’t need to be in English for me to enjoy and appreciate them. I have games from Germany, France, Spain, Japan, China, Brazil, and the UK.
My favorite is Kolejka, a Polish game about queuing at nearly empty stores during communism.
Book covers, seeing what kinda stuff is being talked about, the general vibe of the space itself.
Lots of fun to be had wandering about, and unless you're looking at a thing where the script is really indecipherable you can kinda figure out what the topic du jour is even in foreign languages.
It's fun to look at book covers and imagine what's in the contents too.
I can see this catching on in the US with a lot of cultural exceptions that would amplify the library as an either an ideological battleground or sanctuary.
I liked the article. Everytime I discoered a unique place I want to tell the world about it and then I realize that could ruin it so I dont.
Its ironic
It reminds of one of the later scenes from Secret Life of Walter Mitty when Sean (photographer) decides not to take a picture of the elusive snow leopard in front of them.
Very true. If everyone on the planet was allowed to walk over the great pyramids of Egypt, they would be pounded into dust. Sometimes it is better just to observe and move on.
It would be interesting if libraries also operated, say, cafes. Rules apply of course, but it might create a job and add something extra to a library.
Japan already has a range of cafes that let you read books, manga, or listen to music
There's a library in the neighboring suburb that has a little cafe in the lobby.
When visiting Delft in the Netherlands I was extremely jealous that the library there not only had a cafe, but that the cafe served wine and the whole place was open until like 11pm. Haven’t encountered anything like that in the US.
I think at least a couple do have cafes here in Göteborg
This would definitely be a great thing to add.
One thing that I don't like about American culture is that people are a little too hesitant about adding 'retail' into publicly-owned spaces. There's a reflexive attitude of that being A Bad Thing, even though most Americans who visit, say, Japan, really appreciate the various shops and kiosks they have in transit stations over there.
I also really enjoyed in Germany when at the top of some hike there'd be an inn+restaurant, something Americans seem to treat as nearly anathema.
Given the rest of American culture is intensely commercialised, I can see why there is a desire to protect the remaining non-commercial spaces.
My local library has an indepenently run coffee kiosk out front, the library own the facility and lease it to the operator, and presumably have some lease terms about allowable signage and branding.
I'd probably feel differently if it was a mega franchise like Starbucks or McCafe right at the entrance of a civic building.
Near where I live, there is a library facility that has a cafe. However, it's not a regular book-lending library... it's run by the country library system, but it's actually a free coworking space. They even have a music room with 4 stringed instruments, a computer, and an electronic drum kit as well as a podcasting studio.
The library in my town had coffee, but it was more like a library that had a little coffee than a cafe with a library, if that makes sense.
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): 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.
In Seattle they're mostly homeless shelters.
In LA, it's about 50/50. But in case you aren't aware, this is one of the purposes of libraries.
Depends on the library.
If you appear to be sleeping, staff will check on your welfare, and wake you up.
https://www.spl.org/about-us/policies/community-use-agreemen...
De facto it is in the US, but it is the only country in the world where that is the case.
There's often smelly people napping in Sweden. I presume their housing situation isn't the best. Or they are not mentally capable of cleaning themselves.
There's definitely some of it happening in Australia. I wouldn't regard libraries as the safest of places. I had a period where I tried working from there on my laptop, before realizing I was incredibly naive and there were a lot of homeless and mentally ill people there. Took me a while to realize why people would tell me to avoid the men's toilets in the library as well.
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.
Unfortunately, the US is filled with people who are happy to make their own lives worse if it hurts people they don't like even more.
SF folks: check out https://www.milibrary.org/
Libraries have always had events and activities related to books and other things not book related.
People are just now noticing them. This is a great thing and I hope it sticks.
I believe people are getting sick of every interaction being monetized and are finally seeking out spaces where you can learn and interact with others without that threat.
When I was a kid in the 1990s and 2000s, libraries were already de facto community centers as well in the Bay, LA, and BC.
Time for the daily post on Japan. HN is obsessed with Japan and it's very weird.
User name relevant
It's true. But I'm just happy it's not another AI post
A wild take I have seen was "Japan is the white mans Wakanda". It is a rough way of saying something important.
There are many parts of Japanese culture that is seen as desirable and aspirational to others. The sense of social cohesion and politeness that is projected is seen as a good thing. Yes, the reality is more rough than is projected, Japan has its issues just like everywhere else. But when looking in from the outside, there are a lot of things that can be seen as goals for others to achieve.
This is the same reason why we are seeing a lot more positive takes on China nowadays. The image of a society that is progressing in a way considered desirable. It grabs folks attention, there is also the novelty of it all as it these of nations that look similar but different.
It's a good point but I'd argue having something to aspire to is a good thing, even if it's fictional.
To steal and paraphrase "the important thing about fiction isn't that you see that dragons exist, it's that you learn that they can be defeated".
Of course trying to emulate something you think is desirable based on false pretenses is its own problem, but that gets complicated.
The most interesting thing in the article to me is that there was a dual library/bookstore, and that it’s privately owned. I don’t think I’ve encountered a library that wasn’t publicly owned in the US.
In the US, private libraries tend to be non-circulating, archival, specialist, or owned by private schools.
Claiming Takeo City Library is a private operation is factually incorrect because it is strictly "publicly owned" by the city government. In fact, the city owns the land and building, and pays the private company, Culture Convenience Club (CCC), a management fee from local tax revenues to run the public library. Conversely, CCC pays monthly rent to the city to operate the Starbucks and bookstore inside. Since the entire facility is publicly owned and funded by taxpayers, CCC has zero ownership and is merely a contracted operator.
At least in California, libraries often have a community run used bookstore whose proceeds are used to help the library run community programming.
I recently had a similar episode as the author in another east Asia country: Taiwan.
Found myself in Taitung (along the much less densely populated, remote east coast) with several inches of rain forecast. Spent the day at the Taitung County Public Library [0] and it was a very pleasant public space which had more tourists than patrons!
Shots of the interior for anyone interested (surprisingly Scandinavian): https://youtu.be/gq8xlk_JEG4?t=108
[0] https://maps.app.goo.gl/tnEvHQLMNBGAnMWF9
Makes sense; libraries are the original 'subscription service' for knowledge. Good for sustainability and reader access.
This sounds more like a fetish for physical books to me? I find it bizarre myself, books are just knowledge containers, if you can't read them...what's the point?
I do something similar with boardgames. I like to import foreign language games or pick them when traveling. They don’t need to be in English for me to enjoy and appreciate them. I have games from Germany, France, Spain, Japan, China, Brazil, and the UK.
My favorite is Kolejka, a Polish game about queuing at nearly empty stores during communism.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/85325/kolejka
Book covers, seeing what kinda stuff is being talked about, the general vibe of the space itself.
Lots of fun to be had wandering about, and unless you're looking at a thing where the script is really indecipherable you can kinda figure out what the topic du jour is even in foreign languages.
It's fun to look at book covers and imagine what's in the contents too.
I can see this catching on in the US with a lot of cultural exceptions that would amplify the library as an either an ideological battleground or sanctuary.
Always enjoyed browsing Japanese bookstores, but libraries certainly make books more accessible. It's like the ultimate physical subscription service.