A Branch Library For Good Books

 

Or, A Branch Library of Good Books

   The simple point, I will attempt to make, has been hinted at in both the title and sub-title of this post. I am suggesting that there should be, in a city of this size, one library built to acquire and keep good books. (The making of a simple point should not begin with a parenthetical remark, but for those of you who think the local university library might be the answer, let me know and I will provide another piece on that subject.)
   A silly subject, you are thinking because of the word "good", but I will avoid that issue by supplying this definition of that word from the OED.
  Good is the most general and most frequently used adjective of commendation in English, and one of the most common non-possessive adjectives in all periods from Old English to the present day. Almost all uses convey the sense of being of a high (or at least satisfactory) quality, useful for some purpose (specified, implied, or generally understood), and worthy of approval.
That's it. 
  Although it is likely that the London Public Libraries (LPL) buy the occasional good book and already contain a few, there are some problems that should be acknowledged. One of them is that budgets are limited and the librarians have to purchase books which patrons want and many of those are not good. Pick a very popular recent book and look it up in the LPL catalogue and you may see a message indicating that 50 copies are on order and 25 of them have already been requested. I will not attempt to pick on a title of a book that is not good, but I will suggest there are many of them and many copies of each of them have to be purchased. By the way, that such  books may be on the NYT  Best Sellers List" does not mean they are good. The list is compiled by the Times and the books are popular ones and those, particularly in the fiction category, are generally not considered good enough to show up in a review in the actual NYT. Literary snobbery is not the issue here. Just think of the number of copies of each book that the libraries have to buy from say, James Patterson, who produces many of them on a regular basis. Just think, as well, about the large number of books that now have to be purchased because of the identity of the author, not the quality of the book. Just think, as well, and again of the number of activities and things that librarians and libraries are supposed to do beyond buying and housing books and magazines.
   A new library could be built to house the good books that should be bought and kept. Or, perhaps a more popular option would be to build a new building to do all of the things that "libraries" were not established to do and the project could be given a more popular name as well. Now that I think about it there is already an empty library in London that has been vacant for years. 
   Another problem to address is the one related to the space required for storage since good books should be kept. Storage spaces are far less attractive today than "maker-spaces". To a degree, the space problems have been mitigated somewhat by current LPL policies which, I am fairly certain, cause a great deal of "shrinkage". Those policies will have to be re-examined. I think two things could be considered: 1) There should be penalties if one does not promptly return the good books and 2) books should have to be signed out, especially good ones. (My concern about these issues was raised long ago in a very long post - "The Mystery of the Missing Books." 

Careful Curation

  The Acquisition of Older Books
   Maybe this portion will be of more interest. I was prompted to think about all of this because of the recent "war" that was declared on us by our southern neighbour. Many lamented over the loss of a friend and I thought of the book, Lament for a Nation: The Defeat of Canadian Nationalism. The LPL does not appear to have a copy, not even one of the 40th anniversary edition from which the following is taken and, I think you will agree, might be interesting to read or re-read under current conditions:

Canadians have relatively few binding national myths, but one of the most pervasive and enduring is the conviction that the country is doomed. In 1965 George Grant passionately defended Canadian identity by asking fundamental questions about the meaning and future of Canada's political existence. In Lament for a Nation he argued that Canada - immense and underpopulated, defined in part by the border, history, and culture it shares with the United States, and torn by conflicting loyalties to Britain, Quebec, and America - had ceased to exist as a sovereign state. Lament for a Nation became the seminal work in Canadian political thought and Grant became known as the father of Canadian nationalism. This edition includes a major introduction by Andrew Potter that explores Grant's arguments in the context of changes in ethnic diversity, free trade, globalization, post-modernism, and 9/11. Potter discusses the shifting uses of the terms "liberal" and "conservative" and closes with a look at the current state of Canadian nationalism.

The Purchase of New Ones
   The person employed to purchase new books has a difficult task, since there are many of them, produced from many different places and publishers and even by the authors themselves. Here are some suggestions from just one author, not named James Patterson. Although the author is a white male associated with the state of Texas, he was the Dean of Law at the University of Texas, which is in Austin and should not really be associated with the state of Texas. I knew nothing about the author, but stumbled upon these books, most of which are not even available at the local university. The librarian should have a good look at the reviews, but they certainly look like good books to purchase for our times. Pictures are provided since they are more appreciated these days than words. 

Post Script:
   While I am at it: Librarians are often criticized for the "progressive" books they are getting for libraries. Overlooked, however, are the "regressive" books they may not be considering. For an example of a book about Canada, published in Canada about Canadian history by credentialed Canadians see the example provided in the post linked below. There are no copies nearby in any libraries. (Now they I have looked this over, I see the books I have suggested may be considered "regressive" because they are about "Classical English" and good writing and proper speaking; rather "Tory" indeed.) Censorship By Other Means.

The Library Business

  

   I worked in some libraries and in the "About This Blog" section of this blog, promised that I would write about them.  Making such a promise indicates I wouldn't have done well in a career in Marketing. Realizing that libraries are not the most marketable of subjects is the reason I put the alluring photo at the top to lure you in.  Having checked to see why I am blogging, I also learned that I am not good at keeping promises since I promised a post a day and now owe you 1,350, a deficit unlikely to be overcome. I have even fallen behind in posting about libraries, so here goes. If you would rather read about more interesting things, my first post was about SEX and I did write about the DIRTY BOOKS sometimes found in libraries. 

   Although you have become used to not paying for information and are aggrieved when obstructed by the increasing number of firewalls, you should know that information is not free. Libraries have to pay a lot for it.  I thought about this recently when I received a couple of library-related emails from a market research firm offering advice about how do deal with the fact that there is not enough in the budget to purchase all of the material requested by  those who can be very demanding, even though they are not paying directly for the book or magazine they wish to borrow.

The Library Business is Tougher Than You Think - The University Library

  In this case, the emails had to do with the very big problem faced by academic institutions which have to purchase subscriptions to journals with very big price tags covering a wide variety of disciplines, all of which are supremely important, if only to the enraged faculty member who thinks the periodical absolutely essential to the mission of the university. The first market research report has the title - "Survey of Academic & Research Library Plans for Journal Subscription Cancellations".  It noted that: "These subscriptions are the heart of a research library’s scholarly services and often constitute the majority of materials spending, making them particularly vulnerable in an economic downturn." The second report was for those librarians who have to deal with the the serial cancellations: "Survey of Academic & Research Library Plans for Ala Carte Purchases of Scholarly Journal Articles." Among the few things revealed is that the libraries will have to pay thousands of dollars to retrieve the articles required by faculty that were in the journals to which they no longer have subscriptions. To learn more, the librarian will have to pay $129 for the 52 page report.

The Public Ones

    The budgets for public libraries are limited as well and the demands of the tax-paying citizen are likely just as tough to deal with as those of the faculty member. The decisions that need to be made are also tough ones. I thought of this recently when I looked at some recent purchases made by our local public library system (London Public Library) - purchases I am not criticizing. I suppose it is simply a question of supply and demand and definitely not quality. I would think, however, that some of the librarians who had to make these decisions, wish they could have bought more books rather than more copies of some books. Still even when multiple copies of some books were purchased, the demand outstripped the supply and I am sure the complaints outstripped the compliments. 

   The authors of those books which were purchased in large quantities are likely happy, although not as happy as they would be if consumers bought rather than borrowed the books. It is also good to be able to provide books to those who can't afford them, particularly during a pandemic. On the other hand, it might be better to have more good books on the shelves than lots of copies of mediocre ones.  That there are not is not because of the librarian. 

   For those interested, here are some numbers based on searches of the catalogue of the London Public Library. About the billionaire author, James Patterson, who often does not write 'his' books I will only offer a summary.  I just looked at the first fifteen of his titles (there would be many, many more) and there were 462 copies of those fifteen books. It looks like usually about 30 copies of each title are purchased.  Here are some more examples and in all of them you will see that the demand still far exceeds the supply:

Troubled Blood - Robert Galbraith - 78 holds on first copy returned of 47 copies.

One by One - Ruth Ware - 207 holds on first copy returned of 70 copies.

Invisible Girl - Lisa Jewell - 184 holds on first copy returned of 70 copies.

A Song For the Dark Times, Ian Rankin, 54 holds of first copy returned of 38 copies.

Daylight, David Baldacci,  211 holds on first copy returned of 25 copies. 

  These are just numbers and others could have been chosen. They do indicate that the demand is high for some titles and there is no reason to blame the librarian for ordering them or the reader who has chosen them, unless one wants to tackle the larger issues related to the purpose of the public library.

The Marketing of Library Services - The Public Ones

   Apparently public libraries have been busier than usual because of the pandemic and the few statistics above offer some support for that notion. Although the libraries are closed right now, one can sit at home and order a book from any library in the city and it will be delivered to the one closest to you. I have no doubt that those employed within them have plenty to do.

  That has not prevented them from offering to do more.  In the last email a new "Pick" service was offered as were the services of a staff member who will assist you in finding more books in the category you choose and then deliver them to you.  Also promoted was a new magazine platform and one can use it to get popular magazines that are behind firewalls erected to keep out non-subscribers.

 Other services are offered and apart from ordering films and music one will soon be able to borrow an Ontario Parks pass, the demand for which is likely to be high if spring ever comes.

   

The Academic Ones

   It is more difficult to determine what is going on in university libraries. The few libraries still remaining at Western are closed, but they were well-positioned for the pandemic. For the past few years the library leaders have been deemphasizing the libraries as places to study or facilities in which to store printed matter, in favour of making the material available online. The digital books and periodicals still have to be purchased and some of the packaged digital products costs thousands of dollars - for annual subscriptions.  That there is not much time left for promotion and marketing is understandable. They are also likely spending a lot of time explaining to a student or faculty member why they can't order a particular book or journal and pointing out that good information is expensive.

Post Script:

   When I did work in libraries, I often took positions that were contrary to those held by colleagues, a tendency which can probably be explained by the facts that what I lacked in proper training was made worse by poor judgement.  And, perhaps even before I grew old, I was old-fashioned about some things. For example, I like libraries that are vast edifices full of books and magazines (see, for example, my series - "Periodical Ramblings.")

   Among public librarians there is now floating, what appears to be a contagious idea, with which I do not agree. I am old fashioned and think that, given that books are expensive, one should have to sign them out of the library. As well, one should have to return them on time and be penalized for not doing so. I addressed the first issue in a very long post which you can read here: The Mystery of the Missing Books.  I understand the sentiment behind the elimination of fines - poor people can't afford them - but I am not convinced eliminating them is a good idea. I will leave it up to you to debate the issue and come up with a better alternative.