― Stephen Ex (Stephen Ex), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 16:46 (seventeen years ago) link
This I'd actually agree with, and it's of a piece with online-only music reissues and the like (or just freefloating downloads, like at the UCSB cylinder archive). But as the continuing extension of copyright law means an ever-increasing amount of titles never fall out of copyright, things get problematic.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 16:48 (seventeen years ago) link
― Mr. Que (Party with me Punker), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 16:48 (seventeen years ago) link
This is the Audubon Field Guild to North American Wildflowers. I bought it from the Chilmark Library book sale. They must have had duplicates—no way they'd get rid of the only copy of such an essential book. These other libraries should at least have sales and/or giveaways and not just trash the books. Sheesh.
― Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 16:49 (seventeen years ago) link
― horseshoe (horseshoe), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 16:49 (seventeen years ago) link
― horseshoe (horseshoe), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 16:50 (seventeen years ago) link
― Tyrone Slothrop (Tyrone Slothrop), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 16:52 (seventeen years ago) link
― TOMB07 (trm), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 16:53 (seventeen years ago) link
― Stephen Ex (Stephen Ex), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 16:58 (seventeen years ago) link
MINOR DETAILS
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 16:58 (seventeen years ago) link
― The PEW Research Center for Panty-Twisting (Rock Hardy), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 17:00 (seventeen years ago) link
Someone mentioned upthread working at B&N and being asked to photocopy pages. When I worked at a B&N (in the Twin Cities suburbs), I was astounded at the number of parents of kids doing book reports who didn't seem to know what a library even was or how to use it. The public library was right down the street!
― Sara Robinson-Coolidge (Sara R-C), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 17:03 (seventeen years ago) link
OK, not really. I'll return the books.I missed the library amnesty week - it was Thanksgiving week at my local library, and all the other libraries do amnesty at Christmas. So I called them. "Hi, are you doing that amnesty thing?" "No, we did that at Thanksgiving."Big discussion of fines ensued. And, basically, they don't go farther than $3.00 per book, no matter how long you neglect to return them. It's a very forgiving system.
― aimurchie (aimurchie), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 17:03 (seventeen years ago) link
― Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 17:05 (seventeen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 17:08 (seventeen years ago) link
― Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 17:09 (seventeen years ago) link
― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 17:17 (seventeen years ago) link
― Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 17:19 (seventeen years ago) link
In my experience, most of them do. I have picked up a lot of books that way.
― The Many Faces of Gordon Jump (Leon), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 17:30 (seventeen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 17:32 (seventeen years ago) link
I had a guy do this to me when I worked in a charity bookshop. The bloody book was only about €6, and he just 'wanted a couple of articles' out of it. He was really insulted when I wouldn't let him 'borrow' it to take across the road to the copy shop. People are dicks.
― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 17:33 (seventeen years ago) link
― obi strip (sanskrit), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 17:38 (seventeen years ago) link
WTF??! (i work with rare books and have actually had nightmares about patrons drinking/eating at the tables)
― jo ga11ucci electrix (joseph), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 17:40 (seventeen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 17:41 (seventeen years ago) link
― jo ga11ucci electrix (joseph), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 17:43 (seventeen years ago) link
yay for suburbs
― kingfish in absentia (kingfish), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 17:44 (seventeen years ago) link
I enjoy going to the tall library just because it's fun to wander through the stacks. I'm particularly fond of the "reserve" floor, because those librarians (often students) have a clock that ticks away the time you have to borrow a "reserved" book. it's a very stressful floor. Like, they actually time it to the minute - the two hours that you get to take something from the reserves. "9:47 a.m. GO!" And you best be getting that book back by 11:47 a.m., because they fine you $50.00 an hour, and the hour starts the minute you failed to return the book.How do I know this? Well, you figure it out.
Anyway, I live in the "five college" area of Mass., so the local libraries are very good, and the borrowing system among the colleges/university is splendid. The colleges are very nice about letting the libraries be open to anyone. Lots of crazy, failed PhD. candidates (or so I assume)sitting in the comfy chairs at the Smith library, for instance.The private colleges have the most comfy areas for reading. I might have to write a field guide to comfy college libraries!Mount Holyoke is beyond the pale - SO comfy. I'm very fortunate to have the library wealth that I do.
And Beth Parker? I still have my CLAMS card. (Cape and Islands Library System).
― aimurchie (aimurchie), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 17:46 (seventeen years ago) link
they may say it, but not "generally"
This is the Audubon Field Guild to North American Wildflowers. I bought it from the Chilmark Library book sale. They must have had duplicates—no way they'd get rid of the only copy of such an essential book
More essential than the Newmark or the Petersons?
― nuneb (nuneb), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 18:06 (seventeen years ago) link
― nuneb (nuneb), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 18:13 (seventeen years ago) link
my local branch is always fantastic.
― teeny (teeny), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 18:18 (seventeen years ago) link
― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 18:20 (seventeen years ago) link
Haha the official answer to this would be "no" -- the person quoted here is just slipping up and mixing stuff around. Leslie meant to say "we're beyond it," but had the "it" part of the subject at the beginning of the sentence.
(The main idiomatic use of "beyond" here will always be the exasperated "it's beyond me/us" for "I can't understand/imagine it!")
― nabisco (nabisco), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 18:23 (seventeen years ago) link
― nabisco (nabisco), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 18:27 (seventeen years ago) link
Which is a dodging answer - the question the article would seem to want to ask is "Yes, we know, but why aren't you getting rid of last year's Catherine Cookson novels, which are in a burst of popularity but will wane, instead of stuff that there will always be a steady but low demand for?"
(xpost beaten by nabisco!)
― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 18:35 (seventeen years ago) link
― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 18:37 (seventeen years ago) link
― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 18:39 (seventeen years ago) link
― jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 18:45 (seventeen years ago) link
― The Many Faces of Gordon Jump (Leon), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 18:48 (seventeen years ago) link
― aimurchie (aimurchie), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 18:49 (seventeen years ago) link
― bohren un der club of gear (bohren un der club of gear), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 18:52 (seventeen years ago) link
As for "what do they do with these books?", a lot of liberries have books sales to help with the underfunding aspect.
From the horse's mouth:
http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=libraryfunding&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=139034
― molly mummenschanz (molly d), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 18:56 (seventeen years ago) link
― walterkranz (walterkranz), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 18:58 (seventeen years ago) link
except the zillions of americans that hate to read
― friday on the porch (lfam), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 19:03 (seventeen years ago) link
― bohren un der club of gear (bohren un der club of gear), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 19:06 (seventeen years ago) link
― nuneb (nuneb), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 19:07 (seventeen years ago) link
― The Many Faces of Gordon Jump (Leon), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 19:08 (seventeen years ago) link
― emil.y (emil.y), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 19:11 (seventeen years ago) link
― molly mummenschanz (molly d), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 19:15 (seventeen years ago) link
― emil.y (emil.y), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 19:17 (seventeen years ago) link
I like that you can search by SuDoc number. I honestly don't know how many people would do a search with that, but it's a nice feature to have.
Here's ours (I don't love it)
― molly mummenschanz (molly d), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 23:20 (seventeen years ago) link
― molly mummenschanz (molly d), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 23:21 (seventeen years ago) link
Good ol' triple III. Sometimes it goes in fits and starts but ever since the major upgrade for reserves a few years back I've not had a major problem with it.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 23:22 (seventeen years ago) link
― molly mummenschanz (molly d), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 23:24 (seventeen years ago) link
OTM.
― RSLaRue (RSLaRue), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 23:26 (seventeen years ago) link
― molly mummenschanz (molly d), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 23:27 (seventeen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 23:32 (seventeen years ago) link
Nautical books! They're always blue. I was poking around in the home of a retired Yacht Club president once (courtesy of his caretaker), and his bookcase was a symphony of blue.
Years ago I worked as a housecleaner for a woman who asked me to remove all the "thin books" from her bookshelves.
― Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 23:39 (seventeen years ago) link
I feel your pain. Anytime I have an urge to punch a computer screen, it's usually due to SIRSI (or something dumb like the dreamgirls thread).
― The Many Faces of Gordon Jump (Leon), Thursday, 4 January 2007 01:01 (seventeen years ago) link
― aidsy (aidsy), Thursday, 4 January 2007 03:35 (seventeen years ago) link
Okay, this is my hometown library system. Actually, it is not underfunded. Fairfax Co. is one of the richest areas in the country. And Fairfax Co. has a large, well-regarded suburban system. Right now, the system has an excellent collection. There are about 20 branches, so if you ever want something that is not at your local branch, you can get it pretty quickly. I work at the library system in the next city over, and between the two systems, I rarely want for books.
I had a class with the director of this library and he is very smart and proactive and has been director for about 20 years. He is influenced by business practices, such as increasing interoperability and ease of use and seamlessness. He is influenced by the movement from bank tellers to ATMs and tried to incorporate modern practices into the library system. I think that he wants to intorduce more public meeting spaces into the libraries, which will take the place of some book storage. He thinks that this is what the public wants. Fairfax County also does very proactive environmental scans to determine what their community base is and how to serve it.
I think (I hope) that this article may have been misreported. I can't really see the wisdom in getting rid of these classics. Probably better to weed the multiple copies of the really popular books that people aren't reading two years later after the buzz has died down. I think that they will at least keep copies of the classics at certain branch libraries, if not all. Hopefully Fairfax Co. will publish a response to this article, which left a lot of things unclear.
I'm not really into ILL so much. Part of the pleasure of the library comes from browsing and finding the unexpected. I think that ILL should be a last resort, for the rare item. The library that I work at, a small city library with four branches, has a excellent collection. But sometimes I feel like I am the only person who reads certain books. I'm not sure if this is problem of marketinng, or if their is just not such a great audience of literary fiction and academic-ic nonfiction. I'm really greatful that the selectors at my library have such great taste, but I think we could go more in the other direction, and offer more popular materials. Though I hate bestsellers and their like with a passion.
I don't have to babysit at all in my children's library. We are really lucky in that we are not immediately next to a school. Another branch is next to a junior high school and apparently the students use the library after school to hang out, but not to use the resources or anything.
Anyway, I look forward to seeing this story developing. My library is rolling out the e-audio-books right now with the Overdrive system. But I'm annoyed because Mac won't play nice with libraries and it only works on PCs.
― Matilda Wormwood (Mary ), Thursday, 4 January 2007 03:40 (seventeen years ago) link
― A Radio Picture (Factory Sample Not For Sale), Thursday, 4 January 2007 04:05 (seventeen years ago) link
-- TOMB07
lmao, this thinking worked SOOOO well with microfilm
― bill sackter (bill sackter), Thursday, 4 January 2007 04:25 (seventeen years ago) link
Obviously I check the local system (13 libraries including three university libraries) first when I want something, but if they don't have it, ILL isn't a first or last resort, it's the ONLY resort.
― The PEW Research Center for Panty-Twisting (Rock Hardy), Thursday, 4 January 2007 04:39 (seventeen years ago) link
― Ray Cummings (skateboardr), Thursday, 4 January 2007 12:53 (seventeen years ago) link
So do I! I feel your pain.
― The Many Faces of Gordon Jump (Leon), Thursday, 4 January 2007 13:31 (seventeen years ago) link