A civic tragedy of the highest order
The Seattle Public Library is having a popularity problem. Thanks to its "Libraries for All" building expansion program and an unprecedented increase in use of the library's online catalog, the number of holds — reservations — placed on books and other library materials has tripled, from about 1.01 million in 1998, when voters approved "Libraries for All," to 3.35 million in 2006 . . .I'm not sure which is most amazing:
. . . And it's not just books: Jeff Sconyers, a movie buff and general counsel at Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center, recalls waiting up to a year for "Clerks," an indie movie. He waited so long the hold expired. "The library has an archival capacity, too. I count on them to have a collection that's more than the top 10," he said. - Seattle Times, November 6, 2007
- That library funds go for copies of popular films that any normal person would get from Blockbuster, NetFlix, etc.
- That the general counsel of a major hospital considers free provision of "Clerks" to be an important function of government
- That the general counsel of a major hospital would actually wait a year to see a film instead of renting it for a nominal (to him, surely) amount
- That the general counsel of a major hospital would want to be featured this way in a newspaper article
Labels: mocking others
posted at 11:49 PM
3 Comments:
Hmmm. I am another library DVD borrower. It's not just the fact that it's free, it's that you get to keep them for three weeks and watch them at your leisure. And maybe the Multnomah County Library has more copies on hand, because I've never had a hold expire before I got the movie. Also, the library is a place I go anyway, so it's easy to pick up and return.
Interesting. The article did not mention how the propensity of borrowers to keep items for long periods contributes to the waits. I just remember the library as a place where you went and got things that they had, checked them out and enjoyed them. In my mind, libraries should be repositories, not places for those with idiosyncratic indifference curves to get best sellers a few months after publication. And the place to get the latest Rob Scheider picture is Blockbuster, not an institution my tax dollars pay for. Slightly tougher call on "Clerks", but I would have to say no again to that one. I wonder what books they passed up so they could provide us with "Clerks"?
I would argue there is NO best place to get a Rob Schneider film. If Rob cared about mankind he would stop making movies.
I know my opinions on films is suspect these days, but I stand behind my statement.
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