Academic Libraries

[seayakin]

There was an article in June about this topic in the Chronicle of Higher Education but here is the story again in the Christian Science monitor

http://csmonitor.com/2005/0823/p01s05-legn.html

As a librarian, I find this interesting but not alarming and an appropriate change.

Two important quotes from the article include

"This summer, 90,000 volumes were transferred to other collections in the campus's massive library system - leaving some to wonder how a library can really be a library if it has no tomes."

'"Libraries are about information, and books were simply a way that information was packaged," says Judy Ashcroft, director of the Instructional Innovation and Assessment division at UT. "But more information is being packaged online, and we have a duty to provide access to [it]."

Some librarians get up in arms but I was curious how other non-librarians view these kinds of developments.

 

[Hardenbergh]

I've read a couple of articles about this topic in my local newspaper recently. When I'm at the library, it seems like there are many more people using the computers and the aisles where the books are kept look very empty. However, I don't think books will ever be obsolete. You can't curl up with a computer the same way you can with a book on a cold, winter evening. I like having bookcases filled with books around me--it's very comforting.

I still find myself referring to a set of "vintage 1970" World Book Encyclopedias to look up something in a hurry when I'm at home. I don't have a computer at home so books still have their place. Also, I don't like reading through pages and pages of material on the computer. Often I'll print out a document because I feel it's easier to read that way if it's excessively long.

Many, many years ago, I received an advertisement from Easton Press in the mail. It was a lovely brochure with information about their "100 Greatest Books Ever Written" collection. I dreamed about buying them for a long time. They're beautifully bound with gold lettering and I'd almost forgotten about it until recently when I was going through some old mail and found it again. This collection, as well as some others, is mentioned in the following link:

http://www.cdickens.com/articles/bindings.htm

Easton Press

Easton Press Volume Features

Also from Easton Press, see the absolutely beautiful volumes in "A Girl's Own Library" :

A Girl's Own Library