Why are libraries destroying books? (2002)

Post by sanpan » Mon, Jul 30, 2018, 4:45 PM UTC

kaybe wrote: post #31

sevensor wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't have an up-to-date library without pruning. I'm given to understand it's seen as an essential part of maintenace by librarians. Some time ago I recall having a discussion on this site about it -- I think somebody had posted a link to a set of guidelines for pruning.

Is there any chance you could find that link again?

Post by Timpy » Mon, Jul 30, 2018, 5:01 PM UTC

totalZero wrote: post #20

jdietrich wrote: post #11

One of my local libraries recently threw out a dumpster full of books. There was a minor public outcry at the desecration of literature. The books in the dumpster had all been on sale for the last year, priced at 10p (13 cents) each. Most of them hadn't been checked out for over a decade and some hadn't been checked out since the 1970s. Sending books to be pulped is always sad, but the truth is that there are just to…

They should try to give the books away for free before chucking them out, no? The word "free" eliminates an irrational roadblock (13c is basically free but still offers a hurdle) and if one person reads something interesting as a result, then it's a win. Also, they could box them up and offer each box off for 25c, thus offloading the responsibility of discarding the books onto individuals and preserving the notion of…

Post by shittyadmin » Mon, Jul 30, 2018, 5:09 PM UTC

oftenwrong wrote: post #26

chris_mc wrote: post #2

Libraries throw away tons of books and stuff. If a man-made object is degraded to the point where it's garbage, why not? Sure, some of these tomes may have been recoverable, but if they aren't historically valuable for some reason, why save it? Same thing with any "historical" object, do you imagine that we'll want to save a copy of "Getting done in my butt by my butt" when it's old and yellowing just because it's ol…

>Sure, some of these tomes may have been recoverable, but if they aren't historically valuable for some reason, why save it? Future historical value is hard to predict. Good example: >Worse is the implication is that if something is not "sufficiently interesting", if it's not part of the story a society wants to tell about itself, it's worthless. The future disagrees about what is and is not important, and why. That'…

Post by the_af » Mon, Jul 30, 2018, 5:35 PM UTC

mkirklions wrote: post #24

phendrenad2 wrote: post #21

Most public libraries would be better off without books. All of the books in the average public library exist in digital form. However, go to a college library, and you’ll find tens of thousands of books which are not only not available in digital form, they may be the only remaining copies in existence. Every time I go to the local college library I’m blown away by the number of obscure books on programming and comp…

I am in complete agreement. Physical books are outdated technology that are bad for the environment and outdated the moment they are printed. Its a very emotional thing to support the library, I'm not sure why it invokes such strong feelings with children/moms, but I dont think its a smart decision to continue wasting space and resources on physical books. Note: Nothing is black and white. There should be a strong mi…

Post by c4h8o3del » Mon, Jul 30, 2018, 5:51 PM UTC

TeMPOraL wrote: post #35

HillaryBriss wrote: post #17

It's interesting that one of the ideas this article criticizes is a harebrained combination of closed-circuit television and a "pneumatic page turner", intended to allow readers to study a book in a library many miles away so that only one copy would need to be kept. Yet, I think this basic idea was implemented in the digital realm by iTunes (or someone else) in recent years so that each person would not individually…

Ironically, out of these two, it's iTunes that's more harebrained. Considering that digital storage is almost free, and it's wasteful to transfer bits across half the planet each time you want to listen to a particular song again, streaming is a... pretty suboptimal solution. Especially that you essentially relinquish ownership of your own media, being instead at the mercy of a service provider. Alas, this was the wa…