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

[James Casey]

Speaking of the Internet, one of the most prolific sports commentators
on the web --- "Dr. Z" of Sports Illustrated published a rant back in
August 2007 when he discovered that the Football register had been
eliminated by "bean counters".

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/dr_z/08/09/mailbag/index.h
tml

 

The comments of the patron presented (below) on his behalf by Michael
McGrorty echo my own feelings and those of Dr. Z, however, I would
venture to say that there are still thousands of avid sports fans who
don't know about what has happened.  There was no announcement and even
Borders executives I had spoken with were puzzled since customers had
been asking for those guides.  The loss of excellent sports reference
works will leave gaps on our library reference shelves and make a huge
difference in our following of the sports.  For my personal use, I
purchased the Official NBA Guide EVERY YEAR for about 30 years and used
it at least 100 times during the regular NBA season and playoffs.  It
was my "bible" for factual information and cannot be replaced by various
internet resources scattered across the web.  Nor is there any
comparable guide available in print form for the NBA.  The magazines
available are largely "froth" and pictures.  

 

There are some books that are actual "invaluable" to sports fans who
love the games and immerse themselves in the nitty-gritty facts.  It may
not be easy for someone who is largely indifferent to sports to
appreciate the devastating loss that this back room "business decision"
entails.  

 

Contrary to what some might say, books are still a viable and useful
means of disseminating factual information.   If they were not, I doubt
that the mega books stores would still be growing across the country and
selling the World Almanac every year (which I still use and enjoy).
While some advocates of technology know me to be "in their corner" when
it comes to expanding and empowering people through technology (as Karen
Schneider can attest), I draw the line at putting the torch to books
based entirely on the pretext of internet availability.  

 

James B. Casey --- My own views.

Director, Oak Lawn Public Library

ALA Council Member

 

 

From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Backwage at aol.com
Sent: Sunday, November 04, 2007 2:22 PM
To: jbsphx at cox.net; publib at webjunction.org
Subject: Re: [Publib] The death of print reference as seen by a patron

 

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=940DE3DF143EE233A25751C2A
9659C946997D6CF

 

Spalding Guide:
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

 

Sporting News Guide:  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

 

M. McGrorty

Working on my curveball in the offseason.

 

 





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