[78-L] Music Sale

[Ron L'Herault]

My town library dumped, without microfilming first, all their copies of"
Hobbies".   Had I only known.


Ronald L'Herault

Lab Supervisor, Biomaterials Division
B.U. School of Dental Medicine
801 Albany Street S203
Roxbury, MA 02119



-----Original Message-----
From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com
[mailto:78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com] On Behalf Of Michael Biel
Sent: Wednesday, April 03, 2013 1:09 AM
To: 78-L Mail List
Subject: Re: [78-L] Music Sale

From: Mike Harkin <xxm.harkin at yahoo.com>
> How can a library provide service and be a resource if
> they're selling everything off?   Mike in Plovdiv

I agree 100%, but many librarians will tell you that libraries are not
archives.  A RESEARCH library has more reason for retaining everything, but
most libraries do not serve researchers, just readers, and they need to keep
currently wanted materials.  Things that are not used are not retained.
I've tried to explain to some that researchers want to be the first to use
materials, but once again, that is not of concern to many librarians who
only know how to catalog stuff and have never done research or USED their
library. 
As a matter of fact, I started collecting books because I discovered in grad
school that I couldn't trust that a book I had used in a library would still
be in their catalog next time I needed it.

For media, our university library only wanted the LATEST format, so out went
the films, filmstrips, and LPs.  I did get a lot of them.  They also dumped
their phonographs and projectors and I got more than a dozen of each. When
the Soviet Union broke up, about a year or two later I got about 100 books
about the USSR from their disposal sales.  Obsolete.  

Once a student of mine misplaced a book and he asked me to help keep them
from charging him more than twice what the book was worth -- it might have
been $75.  Today I'd just check on Amazon or ebay and get a cheap copy, but
luckily the kid FOUND the book in time.  About 8 months later THAT DAMN BOOK
WAS IN THEIR DISPOSAL SALE FOR A QUARTER.  I grabbed it and stormed into the
librarian's office.  I ripped him a new one, and for the next 20 years I
didn't let him forget it.  No kid who ever came to me had to pay a fine for
a lost book.

Right now, most libraries are relying on the internet, and the shelves could
be empty and nobody would notice.  You need a book, check in inter-library
loan.  Or buy it on line.

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com
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