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Originally Posted by Ned
Reading the above, I wonder if the people running the libraries and setting the acquisition programs from which they will not deviate under any circumstances, are right about everything else in life as well?
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It isn't about being right or wrong. It is about the library budget, and how much the donated books will cost them, if they do shelve them. A formal policy of "all donated books will be sold", means less wasted time and money, justifying why a book is on their shelves.
Ponder on having to create a fifteen slide Powerpoint presentation on why _Mein Kamp_ is not on the bookshelf, but _The Secret Book_ is.
Along the way, explain why the second book is not nearly as objectionable as the first, despite it being more explicit in how to accomplish those long term objectives.
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Looking now at my local public library, it's all changed. A ragtag assortment of battered books, plenty of PCs and that's your lot.
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Starting fifteen or twenty years ago, libraries started _renting_ books. The theory was that it would be cheaper to rent the current NY Times top 20 books, than buy them. The practice turned out that older NY Times top 20 books are no longer in the library, and the current NY Times top 20 are battered because they are read by so many people.
The PCs are because libraries are trying to adapt to a digital age. Unfortunately, that adaption is wiping out budgets to the point that hard copy material is short-term usage only.
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What chance do kids stand of developing a reading habit or an inquisitive mind?
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A reading habit develops at home, not at school, and not at the library.
With schools abandoning teaching the three Rs,(^1) it literally is up to the parents to not only teach the child how to read, but to develop a reading habit.
Now wondering if the hypothesis that a 500+ home library increases the reading level of a child by more than one grade, holds true when the books are in a digital format, rather than dead tree format.
^1: In both California and Utah, schools expect that a child entering first grade can fluently read and write English, and do basic arithmetic.
_Sesame Street_ and _Schoolhouse Rock_ were, and if still on the air, are the primary teachers of the 3 Rs in North America.