[Publib] Larry McMurty on Books

[Ann Perrigo]

Interesting quote, Pat--but I think in our case McMurtry has it wrong.  The
folks who come into our library *sometimes* use the internet to find
"information"--but more often are seeking entertainment, or are keeping in
touch with friends and family.  And, the kind of information they do want
may not be what McMurtry has in mind.  They want to know about their
hobbies, where they can buy the specialty items they need, how much this
particular "find" is worth, etc.  In other words, very specialized bits of
information that we would not have been able to provide at all twenty years
ago.

It's very difficult for us to interest our patrons in true information
sources--indexes, databases, etc.  They pretty much want to be entertained!

Of course, our favorite patrons still are the ones who are looking for a
good book!  And yes, I see it as my sacred duty to provide them with a grand
selection.

Ann



On Sat, Aug 2, 2008 at 12:33 PM, Pat McMahon <pmcmahon at galwaycoco.ie> wrote:

>
>
>
>
>  Dear Colleagues,
>
>
>
> Many of you will probably have seen this, but for those of you that have
> not, I think it is a very important statement, and I hope you will not mind
> me using the quotation here. It is from Larry McMurty's   *Books: A Memoir
> * which has just been published. I found the quotation in the *New York
> Review* (current issue) where the book is reviewed by Michael Dirda.
>
>
>
>
>
> "Today the sight that discourages book people most is to walk into a public
> library and see computers where books used to be. In many cases not even the
> librarians want books to be there. What consumers want now is information,
> and information increasingly comes from computers.
>
>
>
> That is a preference I can't grasp, much less share, though I'm well aware
> that computers have many valid uses. They save lives, and they make research
> in most cases a thing that's almost instantaneous.
>
>
>
> They do many good things.
>
>
>
> But they don't really do what books do, and why should they usurp the chief
> function of a public library, which is to provide readers access to books?
>
>
>
> Books can accommodate the proximity of computers but it doesn't seem to
> work the other way around. Computers now literally drive out books from the
> place that should, by definition, be books' own home: the library."  (end of
> quotation).
>
>
>
> Further good points in relation to librarianship are made in the final
> third paragraph where Dirda quotes Cyril Connolly stating that "book
> collecting is a kind of prayer." Surely, the putting together of a book
> collection in a public library is also a kind of prayer, something sacred.
>
>
>
> Every good wish,
>
>
>
> Pat McMahon,
>
> County Librarian,
>
> Galway,
>
> Ireland.
>
>
>
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-- 
Ann Perrigo, Director
Allegan (MI) Public Library
annatapl at gmail.com
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