A slightly lengthier followup to my previous eloquent post
Just a few thoughts about a bookless libary:
Maybe you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but the way a book looks can tell you a lot about it. Is it hardback or paperback (or is it bound at all?), newsprint or parchment? Is the typeface old-fashioned or sans serif? Is it small enough to be tucked into a pocket like an etiquette manual or is it a huge tome? If there are illustrations, what do they contribute? (Goodness knows none of my Norton Anthologies to English Literature would be complete without Massachio's depiction of Adam and Eve being ousted from Eden.) Has anyone scribbled notes in the margins?
There's a sensual aspect to books that you cannot replicate in a .pdf file. Furthermore, a book's appearance says a lot about its cultural context. Unless you're a strict New Critic, that means something.
I do know some of the arguments for the bookless library. The environmental aspect is, of course, one of the most salient concerns to me. Goodness knows I wish my office would switch over to paperless or at least cut down on all of what we waste. But creating and powering an electronic library costs too -- computers aren't made of and fueled by the Carbon Footprint Fairy, after all.
Another argument is that the weight of backpacks is destroying schoolkids' backs, and while I do sympathize with that (personal experience, unfortunately), I can only offer up my anecdote that the worst culprits were my huge science textbooks. Why don't publishers make those electronic? They would weigh less and would be less of a hassle when inevitably a new edition replaces them.
It isn't as if all publications are online. Many journals only archive articles after a year or so of being in print.
The minimum price tag for a year at Cushing Academy is $37,086 (day student, no financial aid). For that kind of money, you'd think they could shell out for some electronic databases as well as keep the books. I only hope one of the electronic library systems they've implemented is ILLiad (interlibrary loan system).
idk idk. I like books is all.
Anyway, I move into my new digs on Friday. I realized I haven't written about my birthday weekend yet, and that's one worth recounting, so I'll do that soon!
Maybe you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but the way a book looks can tell you a lot about it. Is it hardback or paperback (or is it bound at all?), newsprint or parchment? Is the typeface old-fashioned or sans serif? Is it small enough to be tucked into a pocket like an etiquette manual or is it a huge tome? If there are illustrations, what do they contribute? (Goodness knows none of my Norton Anthologies to English Literature would be complete without Massachio's depiction of Adam and Eve being ousted from Eden.) Has anyone scribbled notes in the margins?
There's a sensual aspect to books that you cannot replicate in a .pdf file. Furthermore, a book's appearance says a lot about its cultural context. Unless you're a strict New Critic, that means something.
I do know some of the arguments for the bookless library. The environmental aspect is, of course, one of the most salient concerns to me. Goodness knows I wish my office would switch over to paperless or at least cut down on all of what we waste. But creating and powering an electronic library costs too -- computers aren't made of and fueled by the Carbon Footprint Fairy, after all.
Another argument is that the weight of backpacks is destroying schoolkids' backs, and while I do sympathize with that (personal experience, unfortunately), I can only offer up my anecdote that the worst culprits were my huge science textbooks. Why don't publishers make those electronic? They would weigh less and would be less of a hassle when inevitably a new edition replaces them.
It isn't as if all publications are online. Many journals only archive articles after a year or so of being in print.
The minimum price tag for a year at Cushing Academy is $37,086 (day student, no financial aid). For that kind of money, you'd think they could shell out for some electronic databases as well as keep the books. I only hope one of the electronic library systems they've implemented is ILLiad (interlibrary loan system).
idk idk. I like books is all.
Anyway, I move into my new digs on Friday. I realized I haven't written about my birthday weekend yet, and that's one worth recounting, so I'll do that soon!