Libraries

Jan. 23rd, 2011 11:55 pm
bunn: (George Smiley)
 Caught a section on the radio earlier today about the library closure protests. They were saying: use them or lose them. 

This is a call to action that works well for, say, local pubs or milkmen.  I don't think it should necessarily apply to libraries though. I live in a rural area, and am currently,  relatively time-poor and shelf-rich.  It makes sense for me to buy books rather than driving to a library during opening hours.   I am not a customer that particularly needs a library at present: in fact, using one would be something of a pain. 

However, I have certainly been shelf-poor and time-rich (or more conveniently located) in the past, and very likely will be again in future.  The fact that I am not using the library much *now* should not be interpreted as a vote to close the place!  

 I'm not using the local primary school, police station, hospital or prison either, but nobody thinks that means I never will.   Surely public services should be used primarily by those that need them, not by those that merely think that they should remain open...?
bunn: (Default)
Someone that I know slightly online had posted some photos of her little girl (a toddler) on her blog, which was, perhaps rather naively,  unlocked. 

A random person came along and posted a horrible and suggestive comment on one of the photos. She was horrified, and googling the username left (the only ID available) she came across another website where she found holiday photos and other innocent pictures of children, again with suggestive and disturbing comments.  Looking further, she decided that although some of the photos had simply been stolen, some of them seemed to have been posed.

She was disturbed by this, and reported both the comment and the website to the police.  Here's the bit that alarmed me though : the police turned up on her doorstep, took her laptop away, and left her with the impression that her name would end up on the sex offenders register.  

They  did come back later to supply a receipt and clarify that she was not currently considered a suspect, but honestly: if the police want people to report this sort of thing, is this the way to go about it?   She's a married woman with a little child who is transparently alarmed by the idea that the Internet Has Nasty People On It: if she gets treated this way, then I can't help feeling that if a single bloke accidentally stumbled across something dodgy while perhaps doing something like surfing perfectly legal adult material, then I'd completely understand why he might choose to move on his way looking nonchalant rather than risk reporting it.

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