tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post6300187878195066578..comments2024-03-25T15:10:13.792+00:00Comments on English Buildings: More on librariesPhilip Wilkinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-37963553341179159172009-04-14T22:36:00.000+01:002009-04-14T22:36:00.000+01:00Ed: I agree (how could I do otherwise when you've ...Ed: I agree (how could I do otherwise when you've so conclusively demonstrated the quality of the search process?!). I just think there's a place for libraries too.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-14380023012033101262009-04-14T22:01:00.000+01:002009-04-14T22:01:00.000+01:00Thanks for your response, Philip. I know the web i...Thanks for your response, Philip. I know the web is anarchic and is populated by more than its fair share of nutters and contains plenty of rubbish, but it does organise itself brilliantly. Thanks to Tim Berners Lee and his invention of hypertext and links, it is possible to distinguish the wheat from the chaff - follow the sites that rise to the top of Google searches and have plenty of links to them. Type in "english buildings" into Google and guess what site comes to the top of the list! Essentially, the web is quality-controlled by peer review (that's how Wikipedia works) rather than top-down organisation. I like it that way.Ednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-58343398428761107562009-04-14T08:14:00.000+01:002009-04-14T08:14:00.000+01:00Ed: I agree, the web is a treasury, a useful place...Ed: I agree, the web is a treasury, a useful place to make serendipitous discoveries (although 44 Blake poems is just the tip of a much larger iceberg), and a source of some good information in the shape of sites such as the Tate's. And the web is unparalleled for looking things up. But the web needs to develop software that organizes the information it contains, so that discoveries can be put more easily in their intellectual context and so that it's easier for newcomers to sort out the good information from the bad. At the moment what the web tends to do is just give you a lot of everything. That's marvellous in a way, but what people also need is information that has been sorted and presented in an ordered way. A list of links is fine, but it doesn't quite do that.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-13997020809556731602009-04-13T22:59:00.000+01:002009-04-13T22:59:00.000+01:00My favourite library was Newcastle' s Literary and...My favourite library was Newcastle' s Literary and Philosophical Society. I stopped being a member when I left Newcastle 25 years go, but I remember having direct access to all the shelves and the store rooms. Even better, you could take your books to read at a large table where you could get a cup of coffee from a nice lady and also have a fag! I'm pleased to see from its website that the Lit and Phil is still going strong although I guess that smoking is now definitely not on.<BR/><BR/>I do wonder, though, about the purpose of most libraries in the internet age. A quick visit to Wikipedia will yield access to the text of 44 poems by William Blake plus links to a variety of Blake-related websites including one that looks rather good on the Tate Learn Online site. I would argue that serendipitous discoveries are much more likely online than in the library. We have in the world wide web a true treasury of knowledge.<BR/><BR/>Copyright laws mean that the printed word will still be around for a long time to come and the service provided by the British Library and other academic libraries is magnificent. <BR/><BR/>There will come a time, though, when going to the library for most people will be about as relevant as taking your film to the chemist to be developed.Ednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-37242747724365045342009-04-12T19:16:00.000+01:002009-04-12T19:16:00.000+01:00Thanks for these comments.Potok: Look out for a po...Thanks for these comments.<BR/><BR/>Potok: Look out for a post on secondhand bookshops soon.<BR/><BR/>Peter: There are already some library campaigns on the go, including the one featured <A HREF="http://www.librarycampaign.com/Home" REL="nofollow">here</A>.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-87338728311525763732009-04-12T18:35:00.000+01:002009-04-12T18:35:00.000+01:00As an old ex-library toiler, I couldn't agree more...As an old ex-library toiler, I couldn't agree more with your overview of the state of libraries today. How do we start a campaign, who do we get in touch with. So long as it's not Ed Balls I don't mind getting down to it. Is it the Olympics Minister? That's half the problem, I reckon.Peter Ashleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00027878122724846472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-28479243901098904492009-04-12T15:37:00.000+01:002009-04-12T15:37:00.000+01:00I agree - well said! Or should I say written? ;)I agree - well said! Or should I say written? ;)Erinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-15468872543818189682009-04-12T13:50:00.000+01:002009-04-12T13:50:00.000+01:00The decline in libraries is mirrored by the declin...The decline in libraries is mirrored by the decline of independent bookshops, including those lovely second-hand bookshops that impress both by unlooked-for pleasures and that wonderful old book smell. Browsing shelves was how I too discovered so much in my youth. To lose both libraries and bookshops is to deprive young people and future generations of a treasury of knowledge. Web browsing is great (as this blog proves) but it should be available as well as the chance to enjoy physical books rather than instead of.Zoe Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03812139316593467950noreply@blogger.com