Idiots on Parade

[patgund]

To quote The Doctor: "You want weapons? We're in a library! Books! The best weapons in the world! This room's the greatest arsenal we could have - arm yourselves! "

Pity this idiot feels the need to disarm his students though

Welcome to the library. Say goodbye to the books.

"This year, after having amassed a collection of more than 20,000 books, officials at the pristine campus about 90 minutes west of Boston have decided the 144-year-old school no longer needs a traditional library. The academy’s administrators have decided to discard all their books and have given away half of what stocked their sprawling stacks - the classics, novels, poetry, biographies, tomes on every subject from the humanities to the sciences. The future, they believe, is digital.

“When I look at books, I see an outdated technology, like scrolls before books,’’ said James Tracy, headmaster of Cushing and chief promoter of the bookless campus. “This isn’t ‘Fahrenheit 451’ [the 1953 Ray Bradbury novel in which books are banned]. We’re not discouraging students from reading. We see this as a natural way to shape emerging trends and optimize technology.’’

Instead of a library, the academy is spending nearly $500,000 to create a “learning center,’’ though that is only one of the names in contention for the new space. In place of the stacks, they are spending $42,000 on three large flat-screen TVs that will project data from the Internet and $20,000 on special laptop-friendly study carrels. Where the reference desk was, they are building a $50,000 coffee shop that will include a $12,000 cappuccino machine.

And to replace those old pulpy devices that have transmitted information since Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in the 1400s, they have spent $10,000 to buy 18 electronic readers made by Amazon.com and Sony. Administrators plan to distribute the readers, which they’re stocking with digital material, to students looking to spend more time with literature."

Comments

[cormac.livejournal.com]

I'm shaking with anger at the idiocy of the administration at the school, particularly because this is the trend we'll see worldwide. And when a massive solar flare wipes out all our electronics? Welcome to the dark ages, assholes.

[dancing-star.livejournal.com]

I love my computer... I love having access to so much information at my finger tips... But you know what I also LOVE cuddling up with a beloved book and reading it. Some of them are old friends some are new but the feel of the book, the yellowing pages, the broken spins... That show they are loved....

I'd rather see text books on a screen with the ability to highlight, and add comments and notes as I desire... But some people NEED the book to touch, not everyone will learn with a computer screen.

[mama-hogswatch.livejournal.com]

Well, I've seen figures that range from 90% dead to "the human race won't survive it" if our technological infrastructure goes down.

I don't think that school libraries need to be getting rid of dead tree media just yet, but I do note that most of my new novels have been bought to read in electronic format even if I DO have a delightfully extensive paper library in my home.

[duckflambe.livejournal.com]

I'm a huge fan of digital books. They are the future, but they're not the present. This school may be jumping the gun.

We need to get past the format and DRM issues before digital books can replace physical print.

[patgund.livejournal.com]

I see digital books as a wonderful adjunct to physical. Particularly for things like reference and tech manuals, not to mention text books.

But I don't see them as a replacement per se. Particularly due to the format and DRM issues you cite.

Privacy issues when using digital book format.

[stormvoel.livejournal.com]

Outside of the fact that physical books are something that appeal to more senses than merely one's sight (they don't call it curling up with a book for nothing), they are also something that one communes with in private. Digital book technology as practiced by Amazon keeps track of everything you do with your book, and I find that intrusive in the extreme. I'd actually considered getting a Kindle because I thought it might be handy, but after realizing that 'all the things Kindle can do' actually meant 'all the things Amazon can keep track of you doing,' I put the kibosh on that idea forthwith. Beyond delivering my books to me, and therefore knowing what I read, it's no one's business what I underline, bookmark, reread, don't finish, the notes I put in the margins, or the fact that I read the dirty bits in something really trashy over and over again. Call me paranoid if you like, but I'm old enough to remember when there were still a lot of things that were no one else's damn business.

And hey... Mr. Spock grew up appreciating paper books, courtesy of his human mother, Amanda. If he could appreciate those 'pulpy devices' in the 23rd century, then what's wrong with us? Books are made to be passed along, and discarding them is a crime.

Bookless campus. Sounds like a big oxymoron to me.

Incidentally, I found you through the Random Journal feature. What luck! Hope you won't object to my adding you as a friend, as I like your choice of news articles and food.

Re: Privacy issues when using digital book format.

[patgund.livejournal.com]

Not a problem to me, hello there!