[Publib] The death of print reference as seen by a patron

[Backwage at aol.com]

In a message dated 11/4/2007 11:26:48 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
jbsphx at cox.net writes:

I shared  the comments about the demise of the basketball and baseball  
guides  and registers with a friend of mine, who is a lifelong  
baseball fan  and heavy library user (as well as computer user). He  
faithfully  bought the baseball register year after year.  His  remarks:


"This sucks big-time.  There is no substitute for the  register.  I  
have found it invaluable every year, referring to  it several times  
during every game I watch.  Even if I had a  laptop and could punch in  
each player's stats it wouldn't come close  to being as convenient, OR  
as pleasurable.  The physical  pleasure one gets from looking  
something up in a BOOK is  immeasurable compared to typing on a  
keyboard and ruining one's eyes  by reading off a screen."
This is an interesting opportunity to enlighten librarians who may not be  in 
the know about such information sources.  How would you find the roster  for 
the 1932 Cincinnati Reds?  Is there an authoritative source, a final  
reference for such material?  
 
Major-league baseball has an official guide, actually a publication which  
baseball permits to be published under its name.  This began with the  Reach 
Guide, then went to Spalding, then to the Sporting  News.  Using magazine 
companies to do this sort of thing is not  unusual in sports.  Some of you may have 
seen the old (now deplorably  defunct) Ring Record Book, which was put out by 
Ring magazine  and which used to be the official record of professional boxing 
results.   Alas.
 
So check this stuff out.  Make up an electronic tickler of this sort  of 
thing and you'll convince a new generation of junior-high boys to make use of  the 
library:
 
NYTimes article from 1908 about the Reach Guide:  
_http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=940DE3DF143EE233A25751C2A9659C946997D6CF_ 
(http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=940DE3DF143EE233A25751C2A9659C946997D6CF) 
 
Spalding Guide:  _http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/spaldinghtml/spaldinghome.html_ 
(http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/spaldinghtml/spaldinghome.html) 
 
Spalding Guide for 1913, online:  
_http://snowy.arsc.alaska.edu/gutenberg/1/0/0/2/10028/10028-h/10028-h.htm_ 
(http://snowy.arsc.alaska.edu/gutenberg/1/0/0/2/10028/10028-h/10028-h.htm) 
 
Sporting News Guide:  _http://www.nd.edu/~joycecol/Baseball/bsport.html_ 
(http://www.nd.edu/~joycecol/Baseball/bsport.html) 
 
And some commentary on the current online situation:  
 

Major League Baseball Struggles to Reach Fans Online  at:  
_http://www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1540,1775041,00.asp_ 
(http://www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1540,1775041,00.asp) 
 
M. McGrorty
Working on my curveball in the offseason.
 
 



************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.webjunction.org/wjlists/publib/attachments/20071104/35202387/attachment.htm