Libraries get no funding and have no space. Books must be purged. So they'll do things like "get rid of all science reference books without color photos that haven't been checked out in 15 years."
But... that's what the "reference" thing is all about...
anyway... at least I get to read it now.
@futurebird @melanie someone really should found a cold store for books. If we can fill caves with cheese, why not books?
It seems obvious to me that a library always needs an ongoing capital budget for expansion. They can sell off multiple copies of no-longer popular mass paperbacks, and books that really are outdated and very common. But, the older a library is the more old books it should have and the bigger it should be.
Is this unreasonable?
@futurebird
Yes, this is how I would like it to be, too.
@melanie @futurebird the problem I see is that libraries should be accessible to the public. Things like the Library of Congress is obviously different. But we can't expend local libraries forever, that would risk them spending more time on archiving rather a public service.
I would say a library system should keep expanding their collection, and be available to be delivered to any of the branches upon request. But certainly duplicates of old best sellers and such they bought 30 of could be paired down to a few.
But some branches are just going to be space constrained, and wouldn't be able to grow more. So that sort of thing is what interlibrary loan is all about.
@futurebird @ekg @melanie The quick answer to this is that storage costs a lot of money and most libraries are not funded in such a way that would enable them to continue adding while not removing items. Items need to earn their place on the shelves or in storage. Libraries are there to be used and if items are not used then they eventually lose their place on the shelf. So if you want certain books to stay on the shelf, make sure you borrow them and generate those usage stats.
The other answer here is that different libraries have different purposes. National libraries often have a purpose of collecting and holding all the books created in their country and so won't remove those. Public libraries however have a purpose of being valuable to their local community and making sure the books on their shelves hold the information or purpose needed by the local people who are more likely to focus on current and local information, and currently appreciated hobbies.
There is a lot more to say on this, but I'll stop there. But last thing, while there is cross over, libraries are not museums or archives, they have a different purpose.
@futurebird @ekg @melanie God. I'm 75. My shelf space is limited. I give some of it to books I don't want because I feel sorry for them--no one else will want them either.
@futurebird @melanie if we start with a public register, where people can document what they have. I think we can find volunteers to store books. as long as we don't give to many books to one person, we should be fairly safe from unintended loses.
@ekg @futurebird @melanie yeah, also was a bit upset that we had to throw away some old, outdated tech books at our #hackspace. I even wrote an email to our local city library, but they too said they would not need them if they are outdated. :'-(
@ekg @futurebird @melanie that makes me wonder if it could be an idea to start a library / archive tech book storage initiative here in Germany through the @CCC.
@T_X @futurebird @melanie @CCC the way I see it the main problem is funding. Storage space can be rented, and lenders can pay shipping costs. That's why I suggested a register as a first step, if we know what needs to be stored it is easier to plan.
@ekg @futurebird @melanie Wait, there're caves full of cheese? Where!
@ChristineMalec @ekg @futurebird @melanie Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, France
@jbqueru @ekg @futurebird @melanie Are they guarded? I mean, ... cheese!
@jbqueru @ChristineMalec @ekg @futurebird @melanie Les Rousses, France as well.
@dlakelan @ekg @futurebird @melanie So it just keeps accumulating? Wow!
@dlakelan @ekg @futurebird @melanie Is it guarded? I mean, ... chese!
@ChristineMalec @ekg @futurebird @melanie that image is from the canton Lucerne in Switzerland, the article is in German:
https://www.reisereporter.de/reiseziele/europa/schweiz/luzern/kaltbach-hier-liegt-der-kaese-schatz-der-schweiz-i-reisereporter-de-7ZRO2DDL3XIL7ZZJIXYNJS27JJ.html
@ChristineMalec @ekg @futurebird @melanie yeah, of course there's caves filled with cheese, how else would you age cheese? In some room that gets above 60°F?!
@Sean @ekg @futurebird @melanie I think I remember hearing that there are places where cheese is aged under water in deep rivers or lakes, the pressure has some beneficial effect. When are they going to start mailing me regular supplies?
@ChristineMalec @ekg @futurebird @melanie the Moon. Wendsleydale crater.
@PalmAndNeedle @ekg @futurebird @melanie Oh yeah, how could I forget?
@ChristineMalec @ekg @futurebird @melanie happens to the best of us Grommet, eh?
@ekg @melanie
It's kinda morbid but I ought to think about what should happen to the little "ants and math" library I have some day.
I know some older people who have had a very hard time finding a home for such books. In fact we have HALF of what once was the "NYC Urban Planning Association's" library since they were going to throw it out and my husband couldn't stand it.
The upside is I've learned a lot about urban planning.