Madeline
Rookie
- Banned
- #1
Okay, not really, but I was at the county library today to pick up a copy of Sinclair Lewis' "Elmer Gantry" and they had none. Not one copy of any book by Lewis. Nor did the city library branch near my house...the librarian had to order it for me from the state-wide system.
They have the collected works of Danielle Steele, but nothing by Sinclair Lewis? Last month I wanted a biography of Joe McCarthy and not only did my branch not have one, none could be had even from the state-wide system. I don't mean just the title I wanted; there was no copy of any biography of Joe McCarthy anywhere in the Ohio state system. I had to buy it (and may donate it when I have finished reading it). The month before that, I discovered the library does not stock any of Aanis Nin's works.
I ♥ my library but really, this trend (if it is one; could just be I'm hitting some gaps in acquisition that weren't planned) disturbs me. IMO, reading anything -- even a Harrlequin romance -- is good, but there should be at least some shelf space allocated to better literature. It seems their policy might be more akin to acquiring new popular literature and -- dumping? -- fine older works.
There's an apparent gap in the non-fiction section as well, though I cannot give you chapter and verse. I just know non-fiction gets about 1/10th the shelf space of fiction and that the acquisition of important new works is spotty at best.
I know I should be grateful I have a library of any kind, and I am. But after all the platitudes, I am concerned that the modern appetite for books is being fed mostly beach trash reading, and so little effort is made to even make better work available.
What say you?
They have the collected works of Danielle Steele, but nothing by Sinclair Lewis? Last month I wanted a biography of Joe McCarthy and not only did my branch not have one, none could be had even from the state-wide system. I don't mean just the title I wanted; there was no copy of any biography of Joe McCarthy anywhere in the Ohio state system. I had to buy it (and may donate it when I have finished reading it). The month before that, I discovered the library does not stock any of Aanis Nin's works.
I ♥ my library but really, this trend (if it is one; could just be I'm hitting some gaps in acquisition that weren't planned) disturbs me. IMO, reading anything -- even a Harrlequin romance -- is good, but there should be at least some shelf space allocated to better literature. It seems their policy might be more akin to acquiring new popular literature and -- dumping? -- fine older works.
There's an apparent gap in the non-fiction section as well, though I cannot give you chapter and verse. I just know non-fiction gets about 1/10th the shelf space of fiction and that the acquisition of important new works is spotty at best.
I know I should be grateful I have a library of any kind, and I am. But after all the platitudes, I am concerned that the modern appetite for books is being fed mostly beach trash reading, and so little effort is made to even make better work available.
What say you?