Dear Aaron, Thank you for identifying a serious problem in our libraries in our society as a whole. Despite carrying a stock in the tens of thousands of titles I have no scrolls currently on offer in my inventory. In my personal collection I have only four scrolls (not counting piano rolls). Seriously, the transition from real books to digital books is not an equivalent transition to the transition from scroll to codex. As of yet most digital books are not even routinely better or cheaper than paper. Libraries are being asked to change from a financial model that was understandable to one that includes a variety of models and relies on a variety of non-interacting formats. Bookless libraries is a radical concept in librarianship. It is being advocated as a one sized fit all solution for the future of libraries. As a blanket model that certainty has to be false, at least in the short run (10-20 years). Library schools are being turned into Schools of Information Technology. As we go forward more and more of the graduates of these institutions will be unfamiliar with how to handle actual books. As a result they will have a bias away from actual books. However, it is now and will be (for the foreseeable future) a decision made logically, but will be one made only out of a bias for the new. Ultimately the question for me is this. Do we really want to jam our entire life onto a screen? Is that a wise choice and even if it is what are the costs of making that choice?
All the best, Henry Hollander > Should we panic that our libaries lack scrolls? Can you imagine a good > library without any scrolls? What about tablets (the small clay ones with > squiggling staff scratched on them - probably what Avraham used to use)? > > Aaron > > This is not an official policy statement from my employer (which, BTW, > does have both scrolls and tablets though we do lack native speakers of > sumerian to help catalog them). > > > On Wed, 23 Jan 2013, Rachel Haus wrote: > > >> I read the article, as well as the couple comments below it and one >> really resonated. While it seems as if everyone has a updated computer, >> tablet, etc, not everyone does because not everyone can afford one. Our >> family of 5 currently shares a single computer because we cannot afford >> more. While we migtht save up for an extra computer, what about the >> family with far more limited resources? > > The comment made at the end of the article suggested that those without > the means for technology might love to read at home, but would be out of > luck should all reading material be converted to digital form. Tablets > might be lent out, but small libraries in small communities like mine > can't possibly afford even to offer ebooks, let alone to invest in > tablets. I see a disturbing class divide here for basic access to > knowledge. > > Rachel Haus > Library Director > Congregation of Moses Library > Kalamazoo MI > rhaus_...@yahoo.com > > >>________________________________ >> From: Emily Goldberg <exgoldb...@gmail.com> >>To: Hasafran@lists.service.ohio-state.edu >>Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2013 3:39 PM >>Subject: [ha-Safran] Bookless libraries >> >> >>An interesting article: >> >> >>http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/bookmarks/2013/01/libraries_go_mostly_bookless.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2 >> >> >>Is this the future for Jewish libraries, particularly synagogue >> libraries? >> >> >>Emily Goldberg >>Mowshowitz Library >>Hillcrest Jewish Center >>Flushing, NY >>exgoldb...@gmail.com >>__ >>Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual >> author >>and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries >> (AJL) >>================================== >>Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: >>Hasafran@lists.service.ohio-state.edu >>To join Ha-Safran, update or change your subscription, etc. - click here: >> https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran >>Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: galro...@osu.edu >>Ha-Safran Archives: >>Current: >>http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.service.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html >>Earlier Listserver: >>http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html >>AJL HomePage http://www.jewishlibraries.org/ >>-- >>Hasafran mailing list >>Hasafran@lists.service.ohio-state.edu >>https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran >> >> >> > > Aaron Wolfe Kuperman > Library of Congress, ABA USPL, Law Cataloging Section > > This is NOT an official communication from the Library of Congress. > > > __ > Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual > author > and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries > (AJL) > ================================== > Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: > Hasafran@lists.service.ohio-state.edu > To join Ha-Safran, update or change your subscription, etc. - click here: > https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran > Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: galro...@osu.edu > Ha-Safran Archives: > Current: > http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.service.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html > Earlier Listserver: > http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html > AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org > -- > Hasafran mailing list > Hasafran@lists.service.ohio-state.edu > https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran > Henry Hollander. Bookseller 843 Twenty-Fourth Avenue San Francisco, CA 94121 415-831-3228 tel boyc...@hollanderbooks.com http://www.hollanderbooks.com ALL KINDS OF JEWISH BOOKS
__ Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) ================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: Hasafran@lists.service.ohio-state.edu To join Ha-Safran, update or change your subscription, etc. - click here: https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: galro...@osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.service.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html Earlier Listserver: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org -- Hasafran mailing list Hasafran@lists.service.ohio-state.edu https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran
