Some people think that the government should provide free public libraries in every town, while others think that this is a waste of money because people can access information on the internet.
Discuss both viewpoints and give your own opinion.
Many feel that public libraries should be made freely accessible everywhere, whereas others argue that this initiative is a waste of financial resources as the information is widely available online. In my opinion, although a vast amount of information can be found on the internet, much high-quality and reliable knowledge remains inaccessible without payment. Therefore, I believe that making libraries freely available would bring significant benefits to society.
Opponents of the plan to make libraries freely accessible typically argue that it would waste government funds, as much of the information is already available online. With just a few quick searches on a specific topic, individuals can find endless amounts of information on online libraries, research papers, and news articles making local libraries seem irrelevant. For instance, students studying history can find all the historical events and figures on Wikipedia, where information is constantly updated by various independent scholars in their free time. Advances in artificial intelligence have further simplified the process of acquiring information by generating summaries and highlighting key details. An example of a common and useful tool is ChatGPT, as it can retrieve information from the World Wide Web much more efficiently compared to browsing and reading through books in a library.
However, the majority of high-quality information is locked behind paywalls, which means free libraries in local areas could be of great benefit. Online users are often only allowed to read the preview if they do not subscribe to these paid platforms, and therefore could learn significantly more if the government invested in making libraries free. In addition, although there is a vast amount of information online, it can sometimes be inaccurate and misleading, leading to readers developing a skewed perspective on a given topic. A pertinent example of this can be observed in news articles, as they might be politically motivated, presenting extremist views while disregarding factual accuracy. On the other hand, printed books in libraries are usually carefully fact-checked before being published and can present readers a more unbiased view of the world.
In conclusion, despite the abundance of information online, it might be unreliable and inaccessible at times and therefore the general population can reap great benefits from the plan to make local libraries freely available.
Words: 374
freely accessible : được tiếp cận miễn phí
financial resources : nguồn lực tài chính
a waste of : sự lãng phí
widely available : có sẵn rộng rãi
vast amount of : một lượng lớn
high-quality : chất lượng cao
reliable knowledge : tri thức đáng tin cậy
inaccessible : không thể tiếp cận
bring significant benefits : mang lại lợi ích đáng kể
opponents : những người phản đối
government funds : ngân sách nhà nước
endless amounts of information : vô số thông tin
research papers : bài nghiên cứu
irrelevant : trở nên không còn phù hợp
constantly updated : được cập nhật liên tục
independent scholars : học giả độc lập
advances in artificial intelligence : những tiến bộ trong trí tuệ nhân tạo
simplified the process : đơn giản hóa quá trình
acquiring information : tiếp cận / thu thập thông tin
highlighting key details : làm nổi bật các chi tiết chính
retrieve information : truy xuất thông tin
much more efficiently : hiệu quả hơn nhiều
locked behind paywalls : bị khóa sau tường phí
subscribe to : đăng ký trả phí
invested in : đầu tư vào
inaccurate and misleading : không chính xác và gây hiểu lầm
skewed perspective : góc nhìn lệch lạc
pertinent example : ví dụ tiêu biểu / phù hợp
politically motivated : mang động cơ chính trị
extremist views : quan điểm cực đoan
disregarding factual accuracy : phớt lờ tính chính xác của sự thật
fact-checked : được kiểm chứng thông tin
published : được xuất bản
unbiased view : góc nhìn khách quan
abundance of information : sự phong phú thông tin
reap great benefits : thu được lợi ích lớn
general population : đại đa số người dân