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October 28, 2007
Why hide even the books that we have?
Amanda Field questions traditional practice:
It's always puzzled me quite why library authorities need to keep so many books in the store. I could understand this if library shelves were simply groaning with books, but at my local library, there's plenty of space on shelves, and precious few shelves anyway (lots of room around the walls for shelves - the obvious place to put books, you might think, rather than the low-rise free-standing units they have installed). I'm sure they'd say that 'anyone can order a book' but unless you're part of the chattering-class, review-reading minority, how can you possibly know what you might like to read? Surely it's the libraries' job to put as much variety on the shelves as possible so people can browse - and can discover things (in a 'no risk' manner) through serendipity.
Peter K responds
We tend to keep last copies and some rather tatty stock that can't go on public shelves, yet are worth keeping, in our store. All our library shelves are overflowing; lucky you've got space on the shelves in your library.
But Christopher recognises the problem, too
Why don't library authorities realise that bookshops would go out of business if they had shelves similar to those in so many libraries now?
When readers go to a library, they want books.
For a refreshing view on the lost art of the shelf, I recommend Henry Petroski's The Book on the Bookshelf. He also wrote a hefty history of The Pencil, recently reissued.
Posted by Perkins at October 28, 2007 8:43 PM