We all recently commemorated the
40th anniversary of the moon landings and as is common with such events, it led writers to talk about how far we have come since then. That is just a nicer way of saying what we oldsters remember is now ancient history.
I came across one such
column in Wired magazine - well the online version. It was a timely piece considering how many of us here at the library are in the midst of evaluating our webpage, trying to decide whether to use Twitter and/or Facebook for marketing our events, and generally trying to decide what newfangled thing is right for the library. It is a delicate balance between keeping at least on the curve while not losing the personal aspect that makes a public library a part of a community.
Anyway, the
column was talking about what the younger generations won't remember that are all too familiar to the older generations. You no doubt have seen these kinds of things in the past, but the skew of this article was interesting as it focused on electronic changes, and still included a few library things.
#96 is "Libraries as a place to get books rather than a place to use the internet". I will argue that one. Sure, we do have lots of people using the library for computers and the Internet, but the vast majority of all ages come in for books, magazines, music and movies. I actually think that people who 'back in the day' wouldn't come to the library at all, are now coming to use computers - so we are actually serving more of the community.
Then there is #86: "Finding books in a card catalog at the library". I still hear from people who miss leafing through the cards in a file. Since my first library job was filing catalog cards at a university library (an inch an hour was the expected rate which equalled 100 cards), I remember card catalogs with a mix of fondness and delight that they no longer exist. We all are nostalgic for things in our past, but if we went back to that I believe the nostalgia would vanish quickly. My 3rd library job - this time a small public library in NJ - seemed to involve helping people to unlock the mystery of a card catalog quite often. So much so that I actually created a small book "Bookworming Your Way Through the Catalog" (hey, I was young) to help. Of course it was typed on a typewriter, first printed with a mimeograph, later with the new copier. Remember the old copiers that put a powdery coating on the pages? Just in that one activity, I dealt with 4 things that most young people have never experienced.
So take a look at the article and judge where you are in the generational changes. It is interesting to see how times change in a short time, yet some things remain for generations. I just came back from Maine, having stayed in a cottage that is some 120 years old. There are old pictures on the wall of how it looked back then and we can identify almost all the furniture. That old table works just fine for cards, dinner and our laptop, the chairs remain comfortable, the dishes and silverware work fine for baked beans made from my grandmother's recipe or microwaved meals. Real quality lasts and remains useful, books and libraries are just two such things.
DVD:
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.CD:
There is a Season, by The Byrds
Book:
Future Shock, by Alvin Toffler (just as a hoot)
