Topic 11 of 47: libraries - do they have any future?
Thu, Nov 21, 1996 (22:17) |
Paul Terry Walhus (terry)
The library was the first information superhighway.
Now the Kellogg reports says libaries will bite the
dust in the information age. Now the library comes
to us over the Internet. Will libraries functions
be to help folks to use the Internet? What do you
think?
62 responses total.
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 1 of 62: grnyrose (grnyrose) * Sun, Dec 1, 1996 (00:24) * 6 lines
although more and more people are getting personal computers and learning
how to connect with the internet, it still is not as widely spread that we
can do with out our libraries. The library may be the jumping off place
to learn how to connect on your own...but many may not beable to afford
a person computer and hook up charges at this stage of their lives...it will
have to be made available for research in a public forum..like a library.
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 2 of 62: Mika-Petri Lauronen (Mixu) * Mon, Dec 2, 1996 (03:10) * 8 lines
The library will live on.
It is a place of gathered and ORGANIZED information, remember? Nobody will ever be able to organize the net... and besides, not every book or other media will be translated to web form.
And of course, the staff at the libraries know how to find and handle the
information, and that's what will be needed.
(Just random thoughts from an informatics student... 80)... )
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 3 of 62: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Mon, Dec 2, 1996 (17:35) * 1 lines
You probably right. Search engines are far from *organized*. Ever the 11,000 replies in haphazard order from a search engine?
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 4 of 62: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Mon, Dec 2, 1996 (17:35) * 1 lines
Mixu, do you think they ought to apply the Dewey Decimal System to websites?
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 5 of 62: Mika-Petri Lauronen (Mixu) * Thu, Dec 5, 1996 (08:54) * 5 lines
That would be a good idea, although nobody would want to organize all
the tidbits of information in the net. It is a huge undertaking.
I'd like to see a new system which is specially made for internet and
multimedia... Hmm, maybe I should think about it...
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 6 of 62: KitchenManager (KitchenManager) * Fri, Oct 31, 1997 (01:42) * 4 lines
As fun as all this is, it's not the same as
holding a book.
WER
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 7 of 62: Stacey Vura (stacey) * Fri, Oct 31, 1997 (10:57) * 2 lines
And curling up with your computer in bed isn't very comfy.
Especially when you fall off to sleep and the monitor falls on your face.
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 8 of 62: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Fri, Oct 31, 1997 (12:57) * 2 lines
And holding it aloft in the first place is a chore.
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 9 of 62: KitchenManager (KitchenManager) * Fri, Oct 31, 1997 (15:28) * 3 lines
Ceiling mounted screen, IR keyboard and mouse.
WER
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 10 of 62: Stacey Vura (stacey) * Fri, Oct 31, 1997 (16:51) * 1 lines
Great idea!
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 11 of 62: Adam C. Lipscomb (EmpZoltar) * Tue, Feb 24, 1998 (22:09) * 6 lines
There is a romance to libraries, even the glass-and-concrete monsters they build today. Shelf after shelf after shelf of books, most of which you've never read, the almost religious silence that surrounds you, the crisp smell of paper, ink and glue, mixed with the warm scent of so many other people - you just can't get that on your computer.
OTOH, Norman Spinrad, in a recent essay on his website, suggested what could best be described as "cyberbooks." His reasoning (more or less): Almost all manuscripts are now put on disk and edited there. Why not make this the mode of distribution also? It is possible now to design and build a reader - something about paperback size, with an LCD screen and long-life batteries (with, possibly, solar chargers). You take it to a bookstore, or log onto a publisher's website (or even the author's!) and down
oad into the "e-book's" memory the texts you want. Computer billing could ensure that everyone gets their money. The software could be designed so that it is very difficult to copy books from one reader to aonther. You could have the book in any font size and type ou wish. I don't know - I like the idea. What do you think?
This could easily be adapted to a library, also, with time limits in the software.
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 12 of 62: wer (KitchenManager) * Wed, Feb 25, 1998 (13:53) * 2 lines
Still, it is not the same...gotta have those musty, old
crisp paper pages betwixt my fingers...
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 13 of 62: Autumn Moore (autumn) * Wed, Feb 25, 1998 (20:02) * 1 lines
Nothing like the smell of a moldy old tome that's been on the shelf since you were in diapers...
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 14 of 62: wer (KitchenManager) * Thu, Feb 26, 1998 (12:07) * 1 lines
you know dat's right, girlfriend!
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 15 of 62: Autumn Moore (autumn) * Fri, Feb 27, 1998 (21:41) * 1 lines
Don't you get a thrill when an old piece of paper being used as a bookmark falls out? Like a store list or a drycleaning receipt from 1972? I swear I can sense the person's energy still on that paper--either that or I just mentally go back to 1972 (a' la Proust) and recall the essence of the time...
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 16 of 62: Wolf (Wolf) * Sat, Feb 28, 1998 (21:29) * 3 lines
I love libraries. And they are really romantic, all those books with countless
hands on them. Have found the occasional piece of paper as well. Hope they
stay around and don't move completely into the electronic age.
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 17 of 62: Adam C. Lipscomb (EmpZoltar) * Mon, Mar 2, 1998 (20:27) * 9 lines
Don't think from my above post that I necessarily _want_ libraries to go electronic - I, too, have a paper fixation. My wife and I have about 1000 or so books at last count (our last move, three years ago), and we buy more every month. One of my favorite scenes in a film is in "Something Wicked This Way Comes", when Jonathan Pryce is offering Jason Robard's character his youth in the middle of the library - when I get rich, I'm building that library in my dream home.
I think Umberto Eco said it best - "We live for books. A sweet mission in this world filled with disorder and decay."
Libraries are endangered mainly because our society is becoming too lazy to read. I heard a mother in the supermarket once tell her unruly child, "If you don't shut up, I'll make you read for an hour when we get home." If my wife had not restrained me, I probably would have exploded. Our schools offer children pizza parties if they read so many books - as if reading were something unpleasant that we should be bribed to do. My wife was a TA at UT while she finished her Master's degree, and in the actin
class she taught, she had to constantly explain to her students that an assignment to _read_ a play was exactly that - not a suggestion to see the movie based on the play. Perhaps message boards and chat rooms can make writing interesting again, but I'm a pessimist, so who knows...
Yes, students toady on the average know more than their predecessors, and we cannot expect anyone to know all about everything anymore, as we could in the Middle Ages, but Americans seem to be content to suckle at the glass teat and get their weekly ration of "90210" or "The Nanny".
Of course, one of the advantages of being a pessimist is that I'm never dissapointed. At worst, I am mildly surprised in a pleasant way. Let's hope I'm surprised...
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 18 of 62: Wolf (Wolf) * Mon, Mar 2, 1998 (21:21) * 3 lines
way too much tv, they offer pizza parties here too. can't imagine not having
books and hope that never comes to pass. as long as i'm around, at least, there
will be pages of written stuff even if it's only the stuff i've written.
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 19 of 62: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Mon, Mar 2, 1998 (22:31) * 5 lines
I was so happy when my friend Ray sold me two more bookcases, nice oak
ones, plus his computer and Hermann Miller chair for $100 total
yesterday. The bookcases alone would have been worth it. I have books
stacked all over and stored in the basement.
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 20 of 62: nick a'hannay (pmnh) * Mon, Mar 2, 1998 (22:38) * 2 lines
fav. scene in "something wicked this way comes" relates to something bradbury wrote re: the differences between how men and women relate to time... something about women feeling more secure in it because of their relationship to it, being the possessor's of it, in a way (by virtue of the ability to carry life)... and about the terrible desperation men ultimately feel, in it's wake (esp. at 3 am, the "soul's midnight", i think he said)... odd, perhaps, but i found that scene bone-chilling, perhaps because
f the truth i perceived in it or whatever... certainly transcended genre, as bradbury (i thought) so often did...
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 21 of 62: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Mon, Mar 2, 1998 (22:40) * 2 lines
I need to revisit that Bradbury piece, how powerful.
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 22 of 62: wer (KitchenManager) * Tue, Mar 3, 1998 (00:11) * 7 lines
Love the Eco quote...
books come and go with me, I've probably
owned almost that many myself, and we currently
have well over that amount now, cookbooks and
romance novels probably number a thousand total,
and the wife got rid of over 300 romance novels
last year...
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 23 of 62: Autumn Moore (autumn) * Tue, Mar 3, 1998 (13:02) * 1 lines
As a general rule I don't believe in owning books, only the select handful that I will re-read over the years or reference books. I feel like I keep my book collection at the library! The value of reading has definitely been instilled in our children, and I just throw those Pizza Hut book logs away when they come home in the backpack. (Although I do confess to "suckling at that glass teat" more than I should!)
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 24 of 62: Adam C. Lipscomb (EmpZoltar) * Tue, Mar 3, 1998 (21:27) * 9 lines
I'm a little too much of a packrat to feel as you do - I'm not much on other possessions, but I must have my books! The knowledge that when I've got insomnia, I can get up, make some warm milk or herbal tea, and sprawl in the armchair in the corner and read almost any book I'm in the mood for - that is one of the more comforting thoughts I can have during the course of a day.
I still prowl the library when I have the time, although I suffer from the feeling that I could categorize the books better than they librarians. I still remember the day I got my "grownup" card at the neighborhood library in Atlanta. I was finally able to check out more than two books a week, and I could go anywhere in the library I wanted. Barring the unfortunate attempt to read _The Iliad_ in Attic Greek, I covered that library from top to bottom.
I think we all worship the TV Cyclops a little too much - you turn it on because there's one show that looks really interesting, like "Babylon 5", but after that, hey! Look! They're showing reruns of "Deep Space Nine"! And over here, there's an interview with Mike Judge! Channel 43 has the latest on the Clinton Investigation! South Park! Before you know it, you've blown the better part of an evening, and you wonder where the time went. That's why I'm so down on it - I'm as susceptible as the next p
rson, and that kind of takes away your moral superiority.
Back to librarires, though (just call me Non-sequiter Man). I think the best place for librarians now is on the Web. I mean, look at all this information just floating around. If you're a fan of William Burroughs, this is a great way to get a good look at what our society (at least the wired portion thereof) really wants to see. Research? Here? I'd rather throw darts at a map of the library and pull random books off the shelf. I wonder - is there a way to collate the information out here without ha
pering its flow? The proposed new domain names might help some, but still - I think an objective approach might be the best. Your thoughts?
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 25 of 62: wer (KitchenManager) * Tue, Mar 3, 1998 (22:11) * 3 lines
I don't think objective is possible because
of different societal outlooks across the
globe. Maybe I'm wrong, but...
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 26 of 62: Adam C. Lipscomb (EmpZoltar) * Wed, Mar 4, 1998 (06:10) * 1 lines
Still, it should be at least possible to sort into broad categories - Arts, Spiritual, etc. The problem with the chaotic format on the web is that it is often impossible to break the information into manageable streams.
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 27 of 62: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Wed, Mar 4, 1998 (06:26) * 3 lines
Isn't yahoo trying to do that? And some of the other search
engines are getting smarter at finding things relevant to the
subject, I've noticed.
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 28 of 62: Stacey Vura (stacey) * Wed, Mar 4, 1998 (15:47) * 1 lines
Paul, not to be snide but, I think everyone's 'trying' to do that. Just overwhemling amounts of information and not sufficient to create a MISC. category!
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 29 of 62: Adam C. Lipscomb (EmpZoltar) * Wed, Mar 4, 1998 (22:11) * 6 lines
I know several people who either have, or are working towards, degrees in Library Science. I hear frequently that there aren't as many jobs out there as there once were. Why not figure out a way to use these individuals, who are trained to collate information, to organize the amorphous mass that is the Web? There may be entirely new categories of information that we need to create before we can get anywhere. What would those be? Before we move from surfing the Web -skimming the surface - to exploring
we must weed and cultivate it in some way.
Perhaps if the "web ring" idea is expanded - cross link all pages on a specific subject to each other....
BTW, if this is the World Wide Web, is there a World Wide Spider? Just wondering.
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 30 of 62: Autumn Moore (autumn) * Thu, Mar 5, 1998 (01:45) * 1 lines
Yeah, his name is Bill Gates! :-)
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 31 of 62: wer (KitchenManager) * Thu, Mar 5, 1998 (01:52) * 1 lines
Nope, Lycos...
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 32 of 62: Autumn Moore (autumn) * Thu, Mar 5, 1998 (02:07) * 1 lines
Another nightowl!
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 33 of 62: nick a'hannay (pmnh) * Thu, Mar 5, 1998 (02:24) * 3 lines
"lee-sen to them! chee-ldren of the night!
what MU-sic they make!"
(bela lugosi)
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 34 of 62: wer (KitchenManager) * Thu, Mar 5, 1998 (12:28) * 1 lines
now, if we just had some graves to dance on...
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 35 of 62: gena (zx6rider) * Thu, Mar 5, 1998 (12:36) * 1 lines
I just got a new library card, my first in 15 years. I spend so much money on books... just frittering it away in bookstores everywhere. I decided I'd try to save some $ and 'borrow' books instead. My local library signs them out for 3 weeks and doesn't charge a late fee if you miss the due date. No wonder libraries aren't making any money!
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 36 of 62: Stacey Vura (stacey) * Thu, Mar 5, 1998 (17:43) * 2 lines
i think I spend more in late fees that in buying books. I check eight or nine out at a time (because I can!) and then forget to renew them. It's really pitiful actually because DPL lets you call and renew them through a computer (a 96 second ordeal!) and I still manage to accrue late fees. Once I became so enthralled with a book -- Paulo Coehlo's By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, that I wrote in it. I underlined the passages that were speaking especially to me. Then I lent the book to Brandon (befo
e we were living in sin) and he did the same. We really converged over the novel and I wanted to keep it, so I bought the library another used copy...
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 37 of 62: Autumn Moore (autumn) * Fri, Mar 6, 1998 (15:57) * 1 lines
Congratulations on that library card, Gena! Welcome to my private collection!
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 38 of 62: Stacey Vura (stacey) * Mon, Mar 16, 1998 (11:32) * 2 lines
opponents of the proposed Denver Stadium have made several unofficial proposals to the Broncos... we will give you the money via taxes if you give enough money to the Denver library system to keep all branches open on Sundays!
I thought it was a great idea!
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 39 of 62: nick a'hannay (pmnh) * Mon, Mar 16, 1998 (23:40) * 2 lines
(i dunno... books instead of broncos?
sounds like comm'nism, to me)...
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 40 of 62: Stacey Vura (stacey) * Tue, Mar 17, 1998 (09:23) * 3 lines
actually the proposal was so both would coexist happily (ever after)
the city buys the Broncos a new stadium, the Broncos buy the city one day of library access per week!
And the communists never would've justified gazillion dollar stadiums/salaries for an organized sports team!
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 41 of 62: Autumn Moore (autumn) * Tue, Mar 17, 1998 (21:07) * 1 lines
I think it's a fair trade!
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 42 of 62: nick a'hannay (pmnh) * Wed, Mar 18, 1998 (00:41) * 1 lines
(i was kidding)
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 43 of 62: Stacey Vura (stacey) * Wed, Mar 18, 1998 (17:26) * 1 lines
(i know, just thought i'd take the opportunity to further my point!)
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 44 of 62: wer (KitchenManager) * Thu, Mar 19, 1998 (00:28) * 1 lines
(you?!?)
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 45 of 62: Stacey Vura (stacey) * Thu, Mar 19, 1998 (09:42) * 2 lines
*smirk*
*smile*
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 46 of 62: wer (KitchenManager) * Fri, Mar 20, 1998 (00:44) * 1 lines
Cute combo...you wear it well...
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 47 of 62: Stacey Vura (stacey) * Fri, Mar 20, 1998 (10:09) * 1 lines
but i don't have anything on.
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 48 of 62: nick a'hannay (pmnh) * Fri, Mar 20, 1998 (11:23) * 1 lines
(gulp)
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 49 of 62: Stacey Vura (stacey) * Fri, Mar 20, 1998 (13:54) * 2 lines
*laugh*
sorry! Sometimes I forget how public this is-- didn't mean to frighten anyone!
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 50 of 62: wer (KitchenManager) * Fri, Mar 20, 1998 (23:34) * 2 lines
Non-restrictive day again, eh?
(why aren't you ever like that when I'm around in person?)
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 51 of 62: Stacey Vura (stacey) * Mon, Mar 23, 1998 (12:25) * 1 lines
i was... the 2nd time (breakfast)
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 52 of 62: wer (KitchenManager) * Mon, Mar 23, 1998 (16:23) * 2 lines
*lol*
no, silly, I mean nothing on...
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 53 of 62: Stacey Vura (stacey) * Mon, Mar 23, 1998 (17:24) * 3 lines
oh...
well, you left too early!
*smile*
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 54 of 62: Stacey Vura (stacey) * Mon, Mar 23, 1998 (17:25) * 1 lines
(and this has NOTHING to do with libraries... or does it?)
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 55 of 62: wer (KitchenManager) * Mon, Mar 23, 1998 (17:27) * 2 lines
we were, um, checking out information,
and doing, um, research...
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 56 of 62: Stacey Vura (stacey) * Mon, Mar 23, 1998 (17:37) * 1 lines
(good save)
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 57 of 62: wer (KitchenManager) * Thu, Jul 15, 1999 (13:13) * 1 lines
(and hopefully an acceptable(sp?) apology to the other participants!!!)
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 58 of 62: wer (KitchenManager) * Thu, Jul 15, 1999 (13:14) * 55 lines
Introducing the new Bio-Optic Organized Knowledge device,
trade-named -- BOOK.
BOOK is a revolutionary breakthrough in technology: no wires,
no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or
switched on. It's so easy to use, even a child can operate it.
Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere -- even sitting
in an armchair by the fire -- yet it is powerful enough to hold
as much information as a CD-ROM disc.
Here's how it works:
BOOK is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of paper
(recyclable), each capable of holding thousands of bits of
information. The pages are locked together with a custom-fit
device called a binder which keeps the sheets in their correct
sequence.
Opaque Paper Technology (OPT) allows manufacturers to use
both sides of the sheet, doubling the information density and
cutting costs. Experts are divided on the prospects for further
increases in information density; for now, BOOKS with more
information simply use more pages. Each sheet is scanned
optically, registering information directly into your brain. A
flick of the finger takes you to the next sheet.
BOOK may be taken up at any time and used merely by opening
it.
BOOK never crashes or requires rebooting, though, like other
devices, it can become damaged if coffee is spilled on it and it
becomes unusable if dropped too many times on a hard surface. The
"browse" feature allows you to move instantly to any sheet, and move
forward or backward as you wish. Many come with an "index" feature,
which pin-points the exact location of any selected information for
instant retrieval.
An optional "BOOKmark" accessory allows you to open BOOK to
the exact place you left it in a previous session -- even if the BOOK
has been closed. BOOKmarks fit universal design standards; thus, a
single BOOKmark can be used in BOOKs by various manufacturers. Conversely,
numerous BOOKmarkers can be used in a single BOOK if the user wants to
store numerous views at once. The number is limited only by the
number of pages in the BOOK.
You can also make personal notes next to BOOK text entries
with optional programming tools, Portable Erasable Nib Cryptic
Intercommunication Language Styli (PENCILS).
Portable, durable, and affordable, BOOK is being hailed as a
precursor of a new entertainment wave. BOOK's appeal seems so certain
that thousands of content creators have committed to the platform
and investors are reportedly flocking to invest. Look for a flood
of new titles soon.
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 59 of 62: Wolf (wolf) * Thu, Jul 15, 1999 (13:47) * 1 lines
who'da thunk it? *grin*
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 60 of 62: wer (KitchenManager) * Thu, Jul 15, 1999 (14:06) * 1 lines
exactly!
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 61 of 62: Autumn (autumn) * Thu, Jul 15, 1999 (22:48) * 1 lines
It'll never catch on!
Topic 11 of 47 [books]: libraries - do they have any future?
Response 62 of 62: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Jul 15, 1999 (23:00) * 1 lines
I have lots of them. I had four out today just to answer one question. They really do work and are easy to curl up in a corner with on a miserable afternoon when you cannot be outside. I highly recommend them. Over here, bugs like them, too. I hate bugs!!!
books conference 
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