Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion
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Your Local Libraries
IN our library they have started supporting local Youth Crafts. they call it YShop. To be more specific, this is its description from their website.
Yshop n.
1. also youth shop A small retail store run by young adults.
2. A place for the sale of original arts and crafts.
3. A business establishment; or a center of activity for young entrepreneurs age 10 – 22 years.
I think this is such a great thing. My best friend who loves in Philadelphia, her local library, while not selling youths arts and crafts, has other fundraising activities for local youths.
I have found that some libraries do a terrific job of supporting local artists and local youth.
Terri wrote: "My best friend who loves in Philadelphia"Brotherly love?
wtf? lol I don't understand!
Oh...hahaha!! A mispel! No-one can call me slow..tee hee hee tee hee
When at first you don't succeed, try and try again. :)
Wasn't apparently book oriented. That's nearly funny.
I;m learning a lot about libraries. Thanks again Chris.
Borrowers without bookmarks hey. I had not thought of that one. I use bookmarks, but if the phone rings or I need to race to the loo or something, I will put a book face down.
I have a nice little selection of bookmarks. From paper ones to plastic to metal hook ones with dangly things. I get a little joy each time I start a new book, in selecting which bookmark to use.
eg: if I read something medieval, I tend to use my bronze metal hook bookmark with it's dangling bronze petaled flowers (the centres being blood red Swarovski crystals). :)
Love me a nice bookmark I do.
Wow arresting someone for overdue books. That is rather humorous.
I get so annoyed when I get DVDs or CDs out from the library and they have scratches and food all over them. Some people just don't have respect for items or have a good sense of community (it helps to have a good sense of community..people who have this care more about their actions affecting others around them).
I have a very distinct memory of being yelled at by a purple faced headmaster for placing a book face down (a 30 second position if there hadn't have been a delay caused by the yelling.That's all I see now if ever I go to do it, so I always use a bookmark or something else to keep a page for however short a time period. In extremis, I might place the heavier half of the open book on the edge of a table so that it's open at ninety degrees. I even read books with their two halves at ninety degrees rather than fully open.
Traumatised by books!
Poor Lee. Scarred for life by a purple headmaster. I think maybe there is something Freudian in that, but maybe it is just me.I'm with you on 'not fully open' book position while reading. I hate putting them all the way back as that resulting stress groan that a book gives off makes me instantly apologetic.
I even try my hardest not to put creases in new books.
Paperbacks and creases in spines? None of mine have any after I've read them. I get really annoyed when I hear other people make that sound and when they return a book they've borrowed from me with a crease in it.
I get annoyed too. I try so hard to keep them perfect...then I lend them...and all my hardwork is ruined.
...and let us not speak of getting our precious books back with page corner creases in them. *slight panic attack*
Yeah, that's pretty bad.One thing I've noticed is that lending hardbacks isn't quite so bad. Maybe that's just because they're more robust, but I wonder if on some level people see them as more worthy of respect, and treat them as such?
Hmm, that's possible yeah. I'd go with that. I do think they can withstand more when new though.Problem with hardbacks is with age the spines can fail. I get it with my cookbooks, and of all the books I get out from the library, it is the hardbacks that are falling apart. It is quite common for the plates within the book to start coming out.
Terri wrote: "Hmm, that's possible yeah. I'd go with that. I do think they can withstand more when new though.Problem with hardbacks is with age the spines can fail. I get it with my cookbooks, and of all the b..."
Perhaps Chris can comment, but I suspect maybe the paperbacks get replaced sooner? Certainly in your own home (or mine at least) cookbooks are the ones that get puled down off the shelf more than any others (often by hooking a finger in the top of the spine) and are also the exceptions to getting laid flat while working on a recipe. Those two habits would explain why they age more quickly than others - they simply suffer more wear and tear.
They do, it is true. I don't hook my finger in the top though. I take hold of the spine in the middle and wiggle it out. I find some hardback cookbooks tougher than others.As you say though, the process of flattening hardback cookbooks, and considering that hardback cookbooks usually have some weight to them, this is at play in their spines demise.
There is, certainly, variable quality in bindings. Most of my cookbooks are shelved level at the front, so I can't get a grip on the middle!
Ereaders-WAAAAAAAAAAAY LESS STRESS!!Dog eared pages-Off with their fingers I say!!
Bernie wrote: "Ereaders-WAAAAAAAAAAAY LESS STRESS!!Dog eared pages-Off with their fingers I say!!"
You could use one of those little cigar guillotines!
Lee wrote: "Bernie wrote: "Ereaders-WAAAAAAAAAAAY LESS STRESS!!Dog eared pages-Off with their fingers I say!!"
You could use one of those little cigar guillotines!"
Yes! I like it!
Chris wrote: "Lee wrote: "Yeah, that's pretty bad.One thing I've noticed is that lending hardbacks isn't quite so bad. Maybe that's just because they're more robust, but I wonder if on some level people see t..."
Inappropriate placing of tape/book plates/other markings can be irritating, yes. It doesn't require too much thought to see that it might be a problem!
Chris wrote: "Terri wrote: "They do, it is true. I don't hook my finger in the top though. I take hold of the spine in the middle and wiggle it out. I find some hardback cookbooks tougher than others.As you say..."
A dying art indeed. One of my most treasured possessions is a book my aunt leather-bound for me for Christmas one year when I was a child. A red leather dragon on a black leather book, all in it's own board case.
I have out from the library a paperback of In a Sunburned Country. I was on the reserve list for this book for a long time. It went into repairs before I got it.You can see where the first half of the book was coming out and the glue itself had come away form the paperbacks spine/cover.
I felt a little thrill when I inspected this book after its repair.
The thought of being shut away in a dark room at a desk mending books quite delights me. Like the tailor elves.
A friend of mine loathes paperbacks so much that if they are all he can get (as in, a hard to find edition, hardback out of print, a signed secondhand copy) he goes and gets them recovered as a hardback (navy with gold embossed print).
I cringe at the poor book losing its original cover, but he does this regularly.
Chris wrote: "An OMG story ... a tiny Utah town with a long, dark, narrow one-room library illuminated with unsafe looking hanging light bulbs ... all the books have been covered by black spine tape. No titles, noting, just black tape. My librarian friend asked the lady at the counter how people could find what they wanted and she responded, "Oh, I know where they are.".."
GOOD GRIEF!!
Sounds like a good system while she lives. She's made damned sure no-one else can do her job!
As you suggest Chris, there's probably something in the cataloguing of readers as opposed to those who have to quickly pick a book up and categorise it based as much on past experience as on specific content. Nine times out of ten an individual will have several favourite "buckets" that they use time and again.
Terri wrote: "I thought maybe we could use a thread to talk about libraries on. We quite often have library talk in some of the threads and it is a shame that these discussions get lost over time.A few of us w..."
Since I'm new here, I think I will add my 2 cents and answer the questions
Do you use your local library?
Yes, all of the time. My wife works there part time.
Are they privately funded or funded by local government?
They're publically funded through property taxes - at least on my property tax bill it has a line for library
Do they inter library loan?
Yes, inside the system it is free, out side the system $1 per book
Are they well funded and well stocked with books?
For the county system as a whole yes, each branch a little less so - there are 7 branches in our county system.
Do they charge late fees?
yes, wth a one week grace period. Except out of system interlibrary loans - fines start the day after it is due
How many books can you get out?
you can have 15 out at a time, with another 15 on hold (unless your wife works at the library and overwrites the limit:))
Do they have youth, artist or other programs?
yes, our branch had something for youth at least once a month or so, plus the system will have visiting authors in from time to time - Terry Brooks was here a couple of years ago
The library allows for patron requests of books, and they will buy just about anything I have requested, with in the general guidelines of course. I was talking with our Branch Librarian the other day and she told me that she relys on my requests to keep up the military history/European history sections up to date and well and the historical Fiction section.
This is an interesting thread.In Denmark all libraries are funded by the state and you can borrow as many books as you like for free. If you don't deliver them back in due time (which is usually a month unless you prolong it) you will have to pay a fine depending on how late you are.
I use my local library as much as I can but I live in rather smallish town so the selection is not so big - especially not if you prefer reading books in English. If I can't get the books I want there I go to the libraries of Copenhagen; there I can get pretty much anything that isn't too unknown or obscure.
That said though I have an obsession with buying books, so I only occasionally go to the library, but I always end up leaving with more books than I had planned.
Hi Eli,Wow, you can get out as many books as you want! I bet some people get greedy. I've seen people mention on GR that they take out their full quota of books and would take more if they could. I bet these kind of people would go nuts if they had unlimited lends. Lol
Our system over here sounds exactly the same as yours, Happy. I think though that we can take out up to 30 books. Like you, we can only put in 15 reserves however. I hate the limit on reserves because many books I reserve may have, as an example, 10 people reserving it. My library has all the recent release movies on dvd and the reserves on them can number into 60 or more. Have to wait a long time for these. Having these long reserves affects my short reserve books.
As I live an hour away from my library, I rely heavily on the online reserves system. My husband works not far from the library and picks them up for me, so I only physically get to the library maybe twice a year.
Those are big moments for me. Love walking into the biggest of all the 'county' (council) libraries and seeing all those books laid out. Shelf after shelf. Aisle after aisle. :-) Wish I could do it more often.
Hello, Y'all (uh oh, I am changing accents),My Arkansas refuge (it's really a culturally diverse golfing/retirement community) has an amazingly well-stocked library which, with the exception of its director, is staffed and run by volunteers - as are many of our organizations here (including a great animal shelter and wonderful gym with olympic-size swimming pool).
Borrows are free but even ten cents a day late-fee sometimes gets a reaction from some scrooge; DVDs are current and there is a wonderful childrens program; Computers and Internet access for our time-share visitors, with a painting gallery of our many local artists make it a welcoming venue.
It is, however, not a quiet place since most people know each other and often solicitously, and loudly, inquire about each others health, the health of their loved ones, their pets, their neighbors - that's when I usually make my exit. Not nice, I know, but after all, it's books I had come for not someone's latest knee replacement.
Library constantly rotates its books and has many for sale. Borrowing is great - but I still love to own my favorites, re-read them, touch them and, alas, dust them from time to time. I just love the feel of a book.
Inge
Inge H. wrote: "Hello, Y'all (uh oh, I am changing accents),My Arkansas refuge (it's really a culturally diverse golfing/retirement community) has an amazingly well-stocked library which, with the exception of i..."
Oh Inge, I am totally on the same page as you. Being around people talking about their health, the health of others, what others are doing...all the things you mentioned.....drives me batty. If people have to fill the air with noise lets make it interesting and lets intersperse it with nice, comfortable silences. :-)
Hi, Chris -Sorry to get back so late. Regarding the Fairfield Bay Library: It was and is privately funded (with some help from the City - yes, we are a city), but most funding comes from the community - and, as I said, it is mainly staffed by volunteers. It is open every day as well as Saturday mornings.
So, I don't think that we are in the public library system - but it's an interesting question and I will have to ask our director when I return my current book. I do know that we do a lot with the Shirley Schools - but again, that program is run by our volutneers.
I'll have to keep Douglas Clyde Jones in mind next time I go in.
Thanks for responding; I'll let you know what I find out.
Inge
Inge H. wrote: "Hello, Y'all (uh oh, I am changing accents),My Arkansas refuge (it's really a culturally diverse golfing/retirement community) has an amazingly well-stocked library which, with the exception of i..."
Hi Inge, your Arkansas refuge sounds like a very civil place.
I understand and I agree that I prefer to add a book to my hoard, but I'm a very, very avid reader and to buy all the books I like would be financially challenging.
I also understand that you prefer to enjoy your books in a quiet environment but I confess that I LOVE the idea of lots of people meeting in a library! (Some books have to stick to their hands, after all..)
What about suggesting to add a small cafeteria to the place?
People could go there to speak about their various surgery...:-)
Here's the link to a short speech Umberto Eco gave at the Sormani Library in Milan.
It's very interesting and witty but unfortunately it's in Italian. If someone here understands a bit of this language...Lee, are you there?
http://www.liberliber.it/mediateca/li...
Our friend Lee is in Mongolia working on an archaeological project. :-) Lucky isn't he? He'll be missing from GR for a couple months. He'll be missed. I think segregating the socialising to a cafe is a good thing for libraries. Our main library has recently put in two areas for the 'loud chat'. A lounge and a coffee area.
They do 'shush' people in my library, which is good. :-)
Hello, Simona --When people aske me (somewhat incredulously) how I would up in Arkansas, I tell them that it reminds me of my home in Austria: lots of woods, winding roads, and lakes. But to my various American friends, it is still an oximoron (like my red Volvo) how I could have moved there, giving up my opera season tickets, my zoo pass and ocean-side townhouse -- honestly, I myself don't quite know. It was just time for a change.
I arrived, luckily found that the sweet house I had bought over the Internet was just that: Sweet. And I settled in.
My real estate agent counseled me that the roof had passed it's time and that to replace it I "should wait until I got some 'hell.' "Why would somebody give me hell? I just moved here. Oh, you mean hail?" "Right," she said, "Hell." My first lesson in Arkansas.
But people really are incredibly sweet and helpful. So, I - like many others - have shed my pretentious cosmopolitan feathers and settled in. Apart from a great library, we have renowned story tellers and musicians, as well as our very own talented painters.
Alas, your Italian article is a slight problem. I know (and love) he language mostly from my opera librettos - but to fit "Assasino! I shall jump off this parapet and we shall meet before God" presents somewhat of a challenge in everyday conversation.
As to a suggested cafeteria for the library, we have a really nice new restaurant right next door - however, sitting down with a new library book sipping a "Pernod" or a "Campari" (as you practically would anywhere in the world) just 'ain't happening in the bible belt of Arkansas.
Do I miss Paris, Vienna, Boston, California? We always fondly remember what we perceive as having been heaven... would I go back? Not sure. I would, however, settle into the tropics - Hawaii, Tahiti, even Bermuda, in a heart-beat.
This is getting maudling - just an old lady dreaming to escape her confines one last time. I need to get back to my reading and writing...
Reading, I find, is always the best escape.
Inge, I miss the symphony and the Opera too, but for different reasons. I don't get out much due to health reasons, and it is not easy to find someone who likes classical who will drive out to the boonies to get you and load up my scooter as well. I do have an extensive collection of CD's which helps a lot. It is hard to find a 4 hour time slot to watch "Tristan" for instance, so when it comes to Opera, I often play one scene. I also love Operetta. I majored in piano in college, but alas due to my severe arthritis, can no longer play. I do catch some wonderful things on PBS ocasionally. Mostly I just rely on my personal collection of about 900 CD's.I can remember when I lived in Cincinnati, I could drive alone to the Saturday night performance at the Symphony and park in the lot across the street, and drive home without worry. In today's society, unfortunately that would not be possible. But I have many good memories on many years of season subscription and ushering at the summer Opera so I could see the performances for free.
I love my local library! They know me well as I have 3 cards (1 for me and 2 for the kids). I usually leave the library with stacks of books. I usually have a bunch on hold too so they know my name and face quite well! I am usually really good at returning books on time, especially books I know have a waiting list but on the occasion that I get behind, I look at it as a donation to the library. We have a limit on books but only my kids have ever reached the limit....then they just put overflowing book(s) on my card. Videosand video games are all free to borrow but have shorter time outs and renewals.
They have developed a pretty large selection of ebooks but still not nearly comparable with the number of actual books in the system. I can usually find a book that I want to read, but if not, they will usually buy it for the library if you make a request.
Love my library...did I say that already?! ;)
Hello - I think I owe you all some answers...Chris: I was told that, yes, by special arrangement one could get a book from the public Conway library if you really wanted/needed it. But, again, our own library is privately funded and run and was designed/built "by the people and for the people."
Yes, Anne, I too miss my opera subscription from San Diego. Incidentally, the SDO is quite excellent and doing well, in contrast to its symphony. But now, like you, I rely on my (yeah) Beta tapes and CDs but have nowhere near a collection as you.
Simona: Other than being stranded on an exotic island with lots of books (since Terri won't lend me her Spartans) I found sailing quite an escape - but too much work to read as I found out when we sailed off the Mexican/Pacific Coast for six months. And now, I am getting too busy looking at all these threads! Seriously though, Books are great and I have always admired people who write them; it's hard work.
Inge
Tasha wrote: "I love my local library! They know me well as I have 3 cards (1 for me and 2 for the kids). I usually leave the library with stacks of books. I usually have a bunch on hold too so they know my name..."Love my library too! :D
I always freak when I find a book is a day or more overdue and I try to get it back asap. I have this concern that others are waiting for it.
I hate it when I have books reserved and I need them for a group read or buddy read, or just for my own reasons, and someone doesn't bring it back on time. It is frustrating. I don't want to do that to others and always try and get the books back as soon as I have read them.
Inge H. wrote: "(since Terri won't lend me her Spartans) I found sailing quite an escape............................... Books are great and I have always admired people who write them; it's hard work.
..."
This is true. And in case any of you other ladies get any ideas...it isn't just Inge..I do not share my Spartans.
Men of Sparta! Gird your loins!
Writing a book is hard work. No, actually, let me rephrase that. Any old Tom, Dick or Harry can write a book, most of them fit only for the rubbish bin, but it is very hard to write a decent book. I too admire people who can write decent books.
I understood Gerard Butler worked out for 4 months to build his body, and it was not enhanced at all.
I heard that too. Then afterwards he let it all go and he has never looked the same. In all seriousness, I hear it is a full time job trying to stay buff like that.
That it is. I can't imagine the time involved and the specific dietary needs to get that buff.
For a movie star, I think they benefit from 'money being no option'. We have to do it the slow way driven on by our own sheer willpower. We non wealthy types can't afford to have Team Gunnar Peterson giving us a daily workover. :)
True. Finding the 1/2 hour or more each day is definitely a challenge to us 'regular' people. :)
Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction
Books mentioned in this topic
The Fellowship of the Ring (other topics)Raiders of the Nile (other topics)
Hannibal: Enemy of Rome (other topics)
The Fellowship of the Ring (other topics)
The Fellowship of the Ring (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
John Grisham (other topics)James Patterson (other topics)
A few of us were talking in the Historical Mystery thread about libraries, library policy etc... and I think it would make for a good topic thread.
Do you use your local library?
Are they privately funded or funded by local government?
Do they inter library loan?
Are they well funded and well stocked with books?
Do they charge late fees?
How many books can you get out?
Do they have youth, artist or other programs?
This is a thread where we can talk happily forever and ever without worrying about the library talk getting lost or being off topic in other threads.