Decoding DemocracyBaltimore Bridge CollapseMillion BazillionI've Always Wondered ...

Loading...

0:00
0% played
Stories Tagged as

Libraries

Democracy in the Desert

When the local paper folds, who's left to cover the news?

by David Brancaccio and Alex Schroeder
Feb 27, 2024
Checking in with the remaining reporters in Val Verde County, Texas, three years after its last daily newspaper folded.
Del Rio, Texas, lost its daily newspaper in 2020. Media researchers have labeled Val Verde County, in which Del Rio is located, a "news desert." But that doesn't mean it's a complete vacuum of information.
David Brancaccio/Marketplace
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
Democracy in the Desert

How voters in a Texas news desert get their information

by David Brancaccio and Alex Schroeder
Feb 26, 2024
Researchers have labeled 204 counties in America as "news deserts" — places that lack access to credible, reliable news sources. That includes Val Verde County, Texas.
Del Rio is county seat of Val Verde County, Texas — one of more than 200 counties in the U.S. classified as a "news desert."
David Brancaccio/Marketplace
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

In California and beyond, the right-to-repair movement picks up speed

by Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman
Feb 9, 2024
Fixit Clinics and other groups have formed communities devoted to reducing waste and costs by fixing broken devices.
A Fixit Clinic coach works on a tape player at a California library. Fixit Clinics' aim is to reduce costs for appliance owners and reduce waste for society.
Kathryn Styer Martínez/KQED
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

The Internet Archive lawsuit highlights the tricky economics of e-books and libraries

by Janet Nguyen
Mar 30, 2023
Public libraries have to pay more for e-books than physical copies, while academic libraries say that journal subscription prices are rising.
A view of the Rose Main Reading Room at the New York Public Library.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Share Now on:
SHARE

This Tennessee library can offer more services — when it pays as much as McDonald's

by Kai Ryssdal and Richard Cunningham
Oct 3, 2022
“We don't have enough people to add new things," like social services, says the director of the Marshall County Memorial system.
"We have people who come to the library who need help with housing or help with food," says Jennifer Pearson, director of the Marshall County Memorial Library System.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
COVID-19

Library e-book checkouts soar during the pandemic

by Ashley Milne-Tyte
Dec 24, 2020
Publishers may want to turn the page on this moment, though, to get back to more store sales of books after COVID-19.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, library checkouts of electronic books have shot up by more than 50%. And libraries expect the demand to last.
fizkes via Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

Libraries have spent years reinventing themselves. Will they have to do it again?

by Kai Ryssdal and Alli Fam
May 14, 2020
Just when libraries had figured out how to be a community space, they might have to change again.
Jennifer Pearson, director of the Marshall County Library in Tennessee, with a bag of books for curbside pickup.
Courtesy of Jennifer Pearson
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

For public good, not for profit.

Donate

Why e-books make things complicated for libraries

by Andie Corban and Kai Ryssdal
Dec 4, 2019
Digital books are more expensive than physical books and create logistical challenges for libraries.
A librarian displays a recently-arrived e-book at the Chicago Public Library in 2000.
Tim Boyle/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE

In Denmark, long opening hours for unstaffed libraries

by John Laurenson
Apr 3, 2019
Almost half of Denmark's libraries are open 24 hours a day.
Almost half of Denmark's libraries are open 24 hours a day.
Golden_Brown/iStock/Getty Images Plus
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

Instead of buying toys your kids will soon outgrow — how about borrowing them?

by Ryan Kailath
Dec 27, 2018
"Toyeries" are making a comeback.
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE