re: BR Metro councilman shocked many people still go to the library

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Only a couple of years ago I was in the BR downtown library and there were books in the computer tech section on building your own "8088 or 286" based computer. 95% of the volumes in that section should have been tossed in the trash, but I would make a sizeable bet they are still there and will be moved to the new library.

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Generally not. There's a system, and when time permits, someone goes through and pulls all the outdated books, and they are either sold, donated, or thrown away. Before they moved to the new library, a system wide effort was made to throw away as much as possible.

Unfortunately the little shitheads that are dropped off by their parents run around throwing stuff off of the shelf and/or messing stuff up, so that takes up a lot of time.

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They seem to be flush with cash because they manage the money they receive from taxes appropriately. I would much rather have an organization with a surplus because of proper management vs one that seeks to spend every dime they pull in no matter the

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You said a mouthful there. You just pointed out why govt. doesn't always work for the good of the whole.

Reality is if the money is managed appropriately and there is a large surplus built up, the revenue stream should be reduced accordingly and not "given' to those who made the surplus to spend on items not as beneficial to the whole as some others.

But it is better than having money spent with no sound business practices such that the entity is always begging for more and more.

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I'm not saying that there are not issues with other city/state organizations that have an affect on the BTR area. I just think that the way BREC and the Library system are run is something other organizations should aspire to. The public can see tangible benefits from each organization (i.e. compare BREC parks from 2002 to now, with the implementation of the 'Imagine your Parks' program/tax increase).

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The question I have is how do we know the millages BREC and the Library System receive is way more than they really need? How do we know that they are being smart with the money or that there is so much coming in that they couldn't spend it all? And even if these two boards are really doing a great job, why do we have to raise taxes to get better streets when these two groups are flush with cash that could go to building some turning lanes, improving intersections, etc?

For instance if I had to choose between a new library in SBR or improving Lee Drive, I'd choose to improve Lee Drive. But that's just me. What do the rest of SBRougeans think?

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spoken like someone under 20 who doesn't have kids

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or someone over 30 with 2 kids.

Why do i have to pay for some cheap arse to go rent a blu ray player for free?
Why am i paying for homeless people to spend the day in the air condition or the heat?
Why am i paying for people to play on the internet?

Every school has a library. If you can't find what you are looking for at your school library, go get on the internet like a normal person, which you can also do at your school library. When you get home from school, go play outside like a normal kid and get the frick out of the library.
Why any adult should ever need to go to the library is beyond me. They only go for nostalgia.

Waste of taxpayer money that could just go to schools in general as opposed to wasting money on buildings, staff, and all the other crap that goes with running a library.

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Third, if you're going to use the rediculus and wasteful design, there's no need to keep the library open while you remodel it.

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rediculus

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Sounds like maybe you need to visit

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Why any adult should ever need to go to the library is beyond me. They only go for nostalgia.

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You either buy a ton of books for yourself and your family or you don't read.

I'm an adult. I buy books but I also checkout books from the library. I also belong to two organizations that meet at local libraries each month. I've also taught workshops at the local libraries and participated in events that they've had to get kids interested in getting more excited about education than just going to school.

If you think that reading for kids should be restricted to their school hours then you're messed up.

Again, just because you have no use for a library doesn't mean that the rest of the community can't find value in it.

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I would be happy to eradicate the libraries. I just don't understand why I have to help fund it. Why not just charge a fee for people to use it, so the ones actually using it pay for it?

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Then it would be Amazon Prime. LOL!

Some of us actually read and don't always want to read on a digital device.

I read and buy books from goodwill and the half price book store as well as the library.

Most of the "digital device" reading I do is technical manuals or something.

I don't typically read for pleasure on a tablet.

By the way, this isn't the library asking for new funds. The plan for a new library was approved years ago. The rent money that they're discussing would come out of the library's existing budget.

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Screaming "what about the kids!?" is distracting. We all want kids to be successful. But, stating Baton Rouge spends too much money on Libraries and Water Parks and Golf Courses isn't a bad thing.

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How many water parks do we have? I know BREC shut down Howell golf course and is looking at closing another.

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Between Libraries and BREC, Baton Rouge has gotten out of control with taxpayer provided entertainment

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Pick two things that BR actually does quite well and you will have some moron bitching about it.