This story from the USA reminds me of the Ray Bradbury book, 'Fahrenheit 451' where all books are "outlawed" and "firemen" burn any that are found, while brave citizens try to save some. Books being saved against a tide of a civilisation that no longer values them. Sound familiar? …. how much more noble can you get?
In the East Lake County library system in Florida, books not taken out enough (as deemed by a computer algorithm), are destroyed …. So a brave band of brothers (and sisters one assumes), determined to save them by reading them regularly.
They did this by creating ‘fake readers’ that checked the books out of the shelves on a regular basis. All very clever, and frankly very worthy, but these paper warriors are now being suspended, and investigated to see if this is a fraud (getting more money for the library concerned by boosting borrower numbers by up to 4%). The staff claim that their action had helped save cash by stopping books that actually were popular, being destroyed needlessly.
Personally I side with the librarians in this matter, but then I think our civilisation is sinking under a tide of morons, who we cater for in TV and literature at our peril.
 |
| Book Burning Comes And Goes In Fashion ...... |
In the East Lake County library system in Florida, books not taken out enough (as deemed by a computer algorithm), are destroyed …. So a brave band of brothers (and sisters one assumes), determined to save them by reading them regularly.
They did this by creating ‘fake readers’ that checked the books out of the shelves on a regular basis. All very clever, and frankly very worthy, but these paper warriors are now being suspended, and investigated to see if this is a fraud (getting more money for the library concerned by boosting borrower numbers by up to 4%). The staff claim that their action had helped save cash by stopping books that actually were popular, being destroyed needlessly.
Personally I side with the librarians in this matter, but then I think our civilisation is sinking under a tide of morons, who we cater for in TV and literature at our peril.
Books may be on their way out. Even old people seem to carry those electronic book readers these days.
ReplyDeletePersonally I like the book. No batteries required seems like the most eco-friendly way to read but I guess the electronic readers would say "no trees cut down here". So maybe it's as long as it's broad.
Books may be on their way out. Even old people seem to carry those electronic book readers these days.
ReplyDeletePersonally I like the book. No batteries required seems like the most eco-friendly way to read but I guess the electronic readers would say "no trees cut down here". So maybe it's as long as it's broad.
Oh I don't know, those E Readers must have an environmental footprint apart from batteries. Thanks for the comment.
Delete