Will write more updates; am just busy
Sep. 11th, 2007 09:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brigdhOn Saturday, I needed a book for a class that my university's library did not have, but which I noticed was available on the New York public library's website. I hadn't been to the New York public libraries before; I know I should have, but the abundance of used book stores in this city meant that I could usually simply buy whatever I wanted, usually without paying more than a few dollars for a book, or even no more than fifty cents. So I'd not yet gotten around to getting a library card.
But this weekend I needed this book, and so I borrowed Racheline's card and went to the library. After some small difficulty finding the place (since I had the wrong address), I discovered the first of my problems with the library: when one goes into a library, typically they have computers set up so that one may look up the call numbers of the book one wants, and then locate it within the building. The New York's library's computers require you to type in your account number and a password before you can use them.
Wait. Let me explain this. These computers do not have access to the internet. These computers cannot be used by random people to check email, surf the web, write their screenplay, or any other random activity which might impede others' access to the computer. The only program these computers have on them is the one that searches for books within the library. Why is this access restricted? And sure, most people in the library probably do have library cards, but I'm sure there's plenty of situations in which people don't- children who check out books on their parents' card, people who want to use the library for research without checking things out, people who use libraries as just a place to go after school or work. And now they can't even find out what is in the library.
I didn't know Racheline's password, but I knew the book I wanted was about ancient India, so I just followed the maps to the history section and then wandered around until I noticed others on the topic. It was a bit annoying, but not a big problem.
There was a fiction book I wanted, and thought I'd check to see if they had it before I left. It was one of Tamora Pierce's Tortall books, which are popular enough that I assumed there was a good chance the library would have it, and figured I should check in their YA section.
I had to ask for directions twice before I could find the YA section. Imagine, if you will, a square area with windows running along the left hand side and the path through the library on the right hand side, walls to the top and bottom, all the space full of shelves of videos parallel to the windows. Picture the shelf furtherest in the top left corner, and thus furtherest away from where you would walk if you weren't looking for a video, but rather, you know, books. This shelf, and only the side facing towards the window and therefore not visible from within the library, was the YA section.
I was annoyed enough when I finally found it, as you can probably tell. But then I started to see if they had the book I wanted, and realized that it was not alphabetized. And I don't mean that it was sort of disorganized and messy. I mean that this shelf had never been alphabetized in its life. Books by a single author were scattered randomly. Copies of the same book were feet apart from one another. Spanish-language books were mixed in with the English-language books; non-fiction was strewn throughout fiction; books that were clearly not YA (The Count of Monte Cristo,for example) were not only on the shelf, but had YA stickers on them. I was so irritated that I sat down and started at least alphabetizing things for about an hour before I gave up. And this wasn't some ghetto branch library where I would be annoyed but unsurprised; this was a library right in midtown, in fact, right across the street from the famous library with the big stone lions and Bryant Park.
Maybe I am spoiled, because my hometown has an excellent public library system. But seriously, what the hell is wrong with the New York public libraries? No wonder people don't read, if this is what they have to deal with.
But this weekend I needed this book, and so I borrowed Racheline's card and went to the library. After some small difficulty finding the place (since I had the wrong address), I discovered the first of my problems with the library: when one goes into a library, typically they have computers set up so that one may look up the call numbers of the book one wants, and then locate it within the building. The New York's library's computers require you to type in your account number and a password before you can use them.
Wait. Let me explain this. These computers do not have access to the internet. These computers cannot be used by random people to check email, surf the web, write their screenplay, or any other random activity which might impede others' access to the computer. The only program these computers have on them is the one that searches for books within the library. Why is this access restricted? And sure, most people in the library probably do have library cards, but I'm sure there's plenty of situations in which people don't- children who check out books on their parents' card, people who want to use the library for research without checking things out, people who use libraries as just a place to go after school or work. And now they can't even find out what is in the library.
I didn't know Racheline's password, but I knew the book I wanted was about ancient India, so I just followed the maps to the history section and then wandered around until I noticed others on the topic. It was a bit annoying, but not a big problem.
There was a fiction book I wanted, and thought I'd check to see if they had it before I left. It was one of Tamora Pierce's Tortall books, which are popular enough that I assumed there was a good chance the library would have it, and figured I should check in their YA section.
I had to ask for directions twice before I could find the YA section. Imagine, if you will, a square area with windows running along the left hand side and the path through the library on the right hand side, walls to the top and bottom, all the space full of shelves of videos parallel to the windows. Picture the shelf furtherest in the top left corner, and thus furtherest away from where you would walk if you weren't looking for a video, but rather, you know, books. This shelf, and only the side facing towards the window and therefore not visible from within the library, was the YA section.
I was annoyed enough when I finally found it, as you can probably tell. But then I started to see if they had the book I wanted, and realized that it was not alphabetized. And I don't mean that it was sort of disorganized and messy. I mean that this shelf had never been alphabetized in its life. Books by a single author were scattered randomly. Copies of the same book were feet apart from one another. Spanish-language books were mixed in with the English-language books; non-fiction was strewn throughout fiction; books that were clearly not YA (The Count of Monte Cristo,for example) were not only on the shelf, but had YA stickers on them. I was so irritated that I sat down and started at least alphabetizing things for about an hour before I gave up. And this wasn't some ghetto branch library where I would be annoyed but unsurprised; this was a library right in midtown, in fact, right across the street from the famous library with the big stone lions and Bryant Park.
Maybe I am spoiled, because my hometown has an excellent public library system. But seriously, what the hell is wrong with the New York public libraries? No wonder people don't read, if this is what they have to deal with.
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no subject
Date: 2007-09-12 01:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-12 03:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-13 01:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-12 02:45 am (UTC)I hope you were able to find the Tamora Pierce book you wanted, at least!
no subject
Date: 2007-09-12 03:33 pm (UTC)Alas, I wasn't! But I should soon be receiving a library card of my own, and then I'll do a search to see which branch of the library has the Tamora Pierce book (someone has to!), and get it then.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-12 02:54 am (UTC)I used to volunteer at my local public library when I was in high school and would shelve mostly fiction and the 700s. (Which are the art books.) There tended to be three carts of 700s and one cart for any other Dewey group -- and they were in terrible condition. But when patrons are helpful and put books back themselves, things get out of order. And when librarians don't have the time to organize the shelves they stay out of order. I occasionally tried to reorganize the shelves, mostly because that way I didn't have to decide if I should put 723.7 after the books that went 722.8, 723.2, 723.5 or the section a shelf later that had 722.9, 723.4, and 723.6. But it was a good little public library.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-12 03:53 pm (UTC)I probably shouldn't, really, have taken it upon myself to try and organize things since I don't know what system the library preferred, but I was to annoyed to think of that, heh.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-12 04:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-13 05:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-12 05:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-13 05:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-12 10:59 pm (UTC)The Michael Ende books were still shelved with the science fiction. Eeeesh.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-13 05:32 pm (UTC)Odd
Date: 2007-12-09 05:51 pm (UTC)