Library observations

Aug. 18th, 2008 at 4:36 PM

I went to get my new public library card today at my new local library. Decadently and civilizedly, the local public library is within easy walking distance.

Essex libraries do not require proof of ID or proof of address in order to get a library card. (They do require proof of ID in case of a lost card, however.)

The works of Geoff Ryman and Jasper Fforde were filed under "Modern Fiction", not Science Fiction or Fantasy.

They've a large section labeled "Sagas", larger than any genre fiction section, but smaller than "Modern Fiction". I didn't recognize a single author in the section on superficial viewing. If it was just a synonym for "Series", I would have thought a superficial scan would have be recognizing more of them.

I had no problem at all finding out where the library was, since it's not called an "Idea Store".

Comments

( 6 comments — Leave a comment )

sam_t

Aug. 18th, 2008 04:03 pm (UTC)

I assume they mean Family Sagas, or even 'Aga Sagas', or that sort of thing, anyway.

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owlfish

Aug. 18th, 2008 07:04 pm (UTC)

Quite possibly - but that means, based on space distribution, that there's about 4x the demand for those as for Romance, Fantasy, or for Science Fiction, and half as much demand as all the demand for Modern Fiction.

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eulistes

Aug. 18th, 2008 05:19 pm (UTC)

I have always loved public libraries. Good ones are one of the top three hallmarks of a civilized society, if you ask me. Yours sounds especially good. (I, on the other hand, am off soon to Rome, and Italians don't do libraries, except for university students. Actually, they don't read much, period.)

But, really, this comment is to say:

"Idea store"?!?!?!11?! WTFBBQ ROTFLMAO...

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time_freak

Aug. 18th, 2008 06:23 pm (UTC)

Which library in Essex was that can I ask?

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owlfish

Aug. 18th, 2008 07:03 pm (UTC)

In this town.

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