One thing about the plan that I'm hearing for the library is the implication that even books seldom EVER called for must be out on open racks.WM: Open shelves hold all or almost all of the circulating collection. Special collections (like the Minneapolis Collection) never circulate so are not on the open shelves, but have a room of their own--or did before the building got knocked down.
Sorry, but I've NEVER seen something like that done. Only a fool would saddle themselves with handling archival material like that. A book should be borrowed a certain minimum times per year to be out and available.WM: Unless a case can be made for a particular book, every circulating book must be borrowed a minimum of twice per year or it is "weeded." That means it gets tossed if it's in poor shape or goes to the Friends of the Library for resale if it's in good shape.
Plus, there are books of which the library has ONE copy. I know because I sold a book based on the fact it was in the library collection. Years later, I wanted to borrow it and it had been taken out and never returned. And the book was out of print so now there was NO way to get it. A book like that should be in the reserve collection for reading in a reading room at the library. And NOT in the open shelves where someone can steal it!WM: One of the reasons I could never be a librarian is that I could never weed. I don't even like to be in the library when weeding is going on.
Books disappear from the library without the library knowing for maybe three reasons: most often, because someone borrowed and lost it. Two, some are stolen or destroyed by people with big psychological problems. Three, some are stolen so that other people cannot read them--this is particularly true with regard to books about GLBT people, though it happens to other books as well.
Actually, the Gutenberg project was to put the content of the Library of Congress online. I think books that are likely never to be printed again should never be loaned OUT in hard copy again.WM: It's pretty difficult to know which ones will not be reprinted. For example, the Lynn Doyle stories of Ballygullion have been out of print for years. However, some of them get reprinted in short story collections eighty years after they went ouyt of print--thank God. I particularly recommend The Saucepan by Doyle. It may be one of the funniest stories in English.
That is how we get backed into things like Target Center, the Target office building, and the glass palace.These are not like things. We did not vote a referendum for either the Target Center or the Target office building. We voted for the library.
A good contract lawyer can draw up the terms and then its just a matter of not being bamboozled by contractors with connections. It is better NOT to contract for a library building than to contract under such terms that you are trapped by hard times.WM: Becker's much better on the contract stuff than I am; however, remember LSGI? All they
produced were drawings and models, if that, and they sued us for a bundle which I think we had to pay a truly magnificent sum for those drawings.
WizardMarks, Central ________________________________
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