Tuesday, January 02, 2007

A classic case of computers setting the rules

No doubt the trend that is happening in the US to get rid of books that have not been checked out for two years will come to the UK. Libraries are now struggling to house books, DVDs, computers and areas for people to read books and newspapers so the prospect of freeing up some shelf space will be irresistible for some libraries. The Bookseller Blog points to an article in The Washington Post, which covers what is happening in America and it seems that there is no reprieve for a book based on its ‘classic’ status. For those people with enough disposable income to head to eBay and Abe then getting the books they were after might not be too much of a problem but for those without that luxury the idea that books could be taken out of the library because they haven’t been read for a set period of time is going to exclude them from those authors and titles.

My secret plan, should this approach be taken at my local library, is to check out old unloved classics with each visit to make sure myself and others can continue to enjoy them - an Adopt a Classic campaign should do the trick.