[PLUG-TALK] Multnomah county libraries - any large ones still open?

Russell Senior russell at pdxlinux.org
Mon Nov 27 01:50:13 UTC 2023


>>>>> "Keith" == Keith Lofstrom <keithl at keithl.com> writes:

    Keith> I frequently use public and university libraries, learning
    Keith> about oddball science subjects mostly.  Good libraries shelve
    Keith> the book that I *should* read next to the book that I went to
    Keith> shelf to find.  Books in inaccessible warehouses lack this
    Keith> feature, as do very small libraries.

Libraries generally shelve materials in subject order, either Library of
Congress order in academic libraries or Dewey Decimal in public
libraries, not particularly the whim of local librarians.

Libraries aren't "archives" or the "universe of knowledge" though, the
materials they have in their collection and placed on shelves is
constrained by shelf space and tends to be selected to start with based
collection development librarian judgement and patron requests, and
stays on shelves based on circulation (both the frequency of checkouts
and reshelvings) and also the "does someone else already have it" factor.

Some libraries (though, apparently, not currently including MultCoLib)
have a feature in their catalog system called "Virtual Browse". That is,
they'll show you book covers of materials (which you can click, if they
look interesting) of what *would* be next to the thing you are looking
for, including e-books that wouldn't have a spine on a shelf.

If you are looking for some interesting library practice critique, I can
recommend https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholson_Baker. He also wrote
an interesting book about the lead up to WWII: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Smoke

    Keith> I recently visited the Hollywood library - I remember a
    Keith> different building and larger collection years ago.

    Keith> What are the largest libraries still open in the Multnomah
    Keith> County system?

A bunch (half?) of Multnomah County's system is being remodelled right
now, which obviously impacts public shelf space in the short term. I
don't know the answer to your specific question, but I bet a MultCoLib
reference librarian would.


-- 
Russell Senior
russell at pdxlinux.org


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