bibliophibian

[extemporanea]

I had a weird and slightly horrible experience yesterday, which was to wander into the university library in order to dig books out of their stacks. The nice library assistant person who checked my record (and to whom I have definitely given curriculum advice in the last year or so) revealed that I last took books out over a year ago. This is not

Comments

[anonymous]

It's not just at your Cherished Institution. My current C.I. has all sorts of amenities and, I think, a cafe. But as my visiting brother said recently, "Where are the books?" I have been in the building precisely twice, never further than the foyer; once when gwtting a campus tour and once giving it.

And during my doctorate I went into the library precisely seven times: five times to sit at the nice desks and work inpeace, once to browse the shelves, and once to return the 1971 book that I had borrowed. Absolutely everything else was online.

And the thing is, I now have a huge, customised library in various locations: on my hard-drive and backed up in four places.

Charles Stross hosted an intwresting discussion about libraries in general, a while back, on his blog.

XXIII (writing on mobile device, not signing in)

[pinkthulhu]

Public libraries here are going the same way. The demise of bookshops here (even the big chains) is also related, I guess. Blame Amazon and the internet, with a dash of government cutting of libraries.

I guess libraries of the future will just be a collection of internet terminals, perhaps with some Kindle-type devices that people can borrow to read on. :-)

[extemporanea]

I was at a meeting the other day where they were discussing libraries with loaner laptops. The libraries of the future are here already, and it's sad to realise that, sf or no sf, I don't like them much.

Bookses

[virtualkathy]

Big book chains are going under here in the US, too. You can still find a few small, independent ones, and there's my favourite 2nd hand local chain, "Half Price Books." We're lucky enough to have a pretty spectacular public library system with multiple locations stuffed full of books. Those, and Half Price Books are where I go to wander and get my book stacks fix. I adore it, and dread the day where it might not be an option.

[mac1235]

Bah! I'll just have to make my own library!

[ext_737886]

Woe, woe, thrice woe. Even as a non-academic (and someone who reads tragically few actual books these days - but dammit I FEEL GUILTY over that) I find the idea of a library not jampacked with actual books inestimably tragic. Especially contemplating the likelihood that Elfling will never know libraries as I knew them. (She is, at least, greatly enjoying our local one - no threat of closure there, yet, though it's only open 4 days a week.) And an extra woe for the Tolkein collection.

Incidentally I do like XXiii's presumed typo "intwresting", as an intriguing discussion that wrests difficult truths to the ground... or something.

[extemporanea]

I share your enjoyment of the typo! typos are frequently poetry, or at the very least wordplay.

The thing about libraries is not the piles of books. A Kindle has piles of books. The thing about libraries is the library.

[extemporanea]

Yes, exactly! profoundly irrational, but nonetheless a strong response. And your point re the technological interface and its inaccessability to a large proportion of our population, is indeed important.

Zeitgeist

[first_fallen]

Others are talking about this too: http://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/22762658378