Saturday, July 19, 2008

book? what's a book?



It's the main reading room at the New York
Public Library, but I don't see anyone
reading—do you?

7 comments:

  1. Not one person. Is this spooky or just the way it is? A library with no readers of physical books. How long before libraries without any books at all?

    What disturbs me is how there may be no repositories of "knowledge" in the future. When the technology changes there will be little or no access to the "old" stuff. I remember trying to get some information out of a Canon Starwriter floppy disc. A what?

    But then there are the attempts to digitalize all or tons of books. Which would then be easy to censor or block access to at the whims of the "keepers of the keys."

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  2. If it makes you feel any better, the walls are lined with actual books (not that anyone was reading them), and there are signs on the last 3 tables at one end of this huge room that say "laptop computers not allowed."
    I love what the Internet makes possible (like this, for example), but I'm keeping my books, dammit -- and I'm gonna read 'em too!

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  3. I've been on my cursed computer for two hours now writing and my eyes are numb, sore, ready to pop. Now, I can spend several more hours reading a book and not have such problems. I've read books outdoors round the poolside, in the park, etc, and have even been rained on but don't worry too much...can't say my computer would hold up in similar conditions. Say, anybody see Holly Golightly? Yeah, even she was reading BOOKS!

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  4. This photo gives me chills. I love books and they should be so lucky to be housed in such surroundings.

    I am not a big fan of Bfast @ Tif's, but I also thought of Holly.

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  5. go-jaz is spam. Just click on the little trash can.

    I might argue that they are still "reading" on those screens, but I know what you mean. Gary is right about the dangers of digital shift. So far as we know, paper lasts longer than electronic tech storage, despite what techies say. I can find an old book in a barn and simply open it with my hands to recover the data.

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  6. They are reading whatever is on their screen.

    I read NYTimes.com all the time, instead of the paper and ink version.

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  7. Ughh!!! I am happy at least they are in the library surrounded by books! Libraries are truly magical places. There is something to be said for the feel of a book when reading from an actual book. It's a whole different experience than reading from a computer. Not that I am against technology, I am determined to continue adding to my library at home for sure though.

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Thanks, merci, grazie, danke, hvala, gracias, spasibo, shukran, dhanyavaad, salamat, arigato, and muito obrigado for your much-appreciated comments.