Nowadays What Are Libraries For?

[Shady]

I loved going in the back of my library, they let me go in to find some books, i would sit on the floor, as the books i wanted were at the bottom, and i would take my time looking thro them, i think i already said, on here somewhere possibly that i nearly got crushed nobody told the guy i was in there and the book cases in the back slid on tracks lol

 

[CarlosTheDJ]

I keep reading the thread and remind myself how lucky I am to have a local library within easy reach.

It is nothing like the one I remember, growing up.

I remember lying about my age (by a year) to get access to the record-library - LPs in those days. Their collection, then, was a lot smaller than my own library now but it opened so many doors. As a natural bookworm, I had already read about the operas of Wagner and Richard Strauss. I could only dream about hearing such excessive, outrageous music!

Suddenly, I could. I was listening to two operas a day at the age of fifteen, such was my hunger! There was some history of music in the family - my grandfather was a choirmaster at the Catholic church. The house we inherited had a pianola and a reed organ. Even so, my grandfather's tastes ended at brass bands and Gilbert & Sullivan. Thanks to the Library, I could thoroughly indulge my taste for the "Highbrow!"

Which reminds me of the first time I heard that horrible, self-limiting word. I was about ten, had two shillings in my pocket and had found an incomplete set of the Sargent 1929 Iolanthe in a junk-shop. Would the dragon behind the counter accept two bob for the lot? Not only did she insist that I brought her the full amount but she sneered that I would not like them anyway, because they were "Highbrow!" I returned, plonked down the additional shilling and marched out on the path to I knew-not-where. It was certainly to a more rewarding place than that shilling took her with my best wishes.

When I was a young lad in the 80s I used my library for exactly the same thing - but it was heavy metal and acid house in my case.

I used to spend a long time hiding out in the 'reference' section at the back, poring over the huge, ancient, leather-bound historical tomes that you were not allowed to take home. I was lucky enough to grow up in a 'historic' place (Warwick - we had our own Great Fire and everything) and was fascinated by the town's past - this was like stepping back in in time.

 

[feinman]

When I was a young lad in the 80s I used my library for exactly the same thing - but it was heavy metal and acid house in my case.

I used to spend a long time hiding out in the 'reference' section at the back, poring over the huge, ancient, leather-bound historical tomes that you were not allowed to take home. I was lucky enough to grow up in a 'historic' place (Warwick - we had our own Great Fire and everything) and was fascinated by the town's past - this was like stepping back in in time.

I used to listen to the Dead Kennedys, Sex Pistols, Butthole Surfers, TSOL... But, libraries are now circulating VINYL, again!

 

[Ronnie Jersey]

(This line of discussion spun off from the "What Did Fort Think Of 'Forteans' & 'Forteanism'?" thread)

Our local library here is empty, for the most part.
No one even uses their computers anymore, or orders books.
I go there mainly to visit the girls!

 

[Tunn11]

Our local library here is empty, for the most part.
No one even uses their computers anymore, or orders books.
I go there mainly to visit the girls!

Is it like that in the US as well? Mind you we never diversified into having girls to visit.

Mustn't get side tracked into the destruction of library services, end of the net book agreement, misplaced faith in google, loss of independent information resources.......

 

[Tunn11]

Why not, there are still huge libraries open. ...

Not as many in the UK as there used to be. Funding cuts, political indifference by all parties at all levels, decline in publishing and public indifference and belief that you can find anything you want on google/Wikipedia hasn't helped.

Many libraries have no professional staff, some are kept going by volunteers and other are run by private firms. Interlibrary cooperation is being deconstructed and archives and some local collections are being "mothballed" often in conditions that are not conducive to preservation. Once gone it will be difficult if not impossible to rebuild.

I have to declare bias as an ex chartered librarian and trustee for the professional association.

The governance and financing in the US is different and I always had the impression that libraries had a better profile in the community there than they do here. It's great if you still have huge libraries but will they last if user numbers are falling?

 

[Ronnie Jersey]

Not as many in the UK as there used to be. Funding cuts, political indifference by all parties at all levels, decline in publishing and public indifference and belief that you can find anything you want on google/Wikipedia hasn't helped.

Many libraries have no professional staff, some are kept going by volunteers and other are run by private firms. Interlibrary cooperation is being deconstructed and archives and some local collections are being "mothballed" often in conditions that are not conducive to preservation. Once gone it will be difficult if not impossible to rebuild.

I have to declare bias as an ex chartered librarian and trustee for the professional association.

The governance and financing in the US is different and I always had the impression that libraries had a better profile in the community there than they do here. It's great if you still have huge libraries but will they last if user numbers are falling?

Problem being as well that it is much easier and quicker to do research on the internet, rather than locate some rare books and read through them to find the info you are looking for. So convenient to do all this from the comfort of your own home too.
I have the feeling that it would be very difficult to live without the internet - paying bills, finding a phone number, shopping for absolutely anything, ordering groceries, finding a specialist in your area, or an apartment, or a home - I know I would be somewhat lost without it.
But yes, we do have some huge libraries, and can order books that are not available at your town library.

 

[Tunn11]

Problem being as well that it is much easier and quicker to do research on the internet, rather than locate some rare books and read through them to find the info you are looking for. So convenient to do all this from the comfort of your own home too.
I have the feeling that it would be very difficult to live without the internet - paying bills, finding a phone number, shopping for absolutely anything, ordering groceries, finding a specialist in your area, or an apartment, or a home - I know I would be somewhat lost without it.
But yes, we do have some huge libraries, and can order books that are not available at your town library.

It is difficult now to imagine life without it. Initially, professionally I thought it was great for information that needed quick updating, directories, obituaries etc. But websites are often not updated and often have no dates showing when they were created or when any updates were added. If, for instance a firm shuts down they may remove their website but the information stays on other web sites that have copied it.

Also the provenance of the website often isn't clear. If I wanted to propose the theory that the colour green was an alien construct invented by the plantoids of Zarg 3 (it isn't) I doubt I'd have got a publisher in the 1980s; but I can put it on the net now and some idiot will believe me!

Fort at least had a chance of checking his sources.

 

[Endlessly Amazed]

Not as many in the UK as there used to be. Funding cuts, political indifference by all parties at all levels, decline in publishing and public indifference and belief that you can find anything you want on google/Wikipedia hasn't helped.

Many libraries have no professional staff, some are kept going by volunteers and other are run by private firms. Interlibrary cooperation is being deconstructed and archives and some local collections are being "mothballed" often in conditions that are not conducive to preservation. Once gone it will be difficult if not impossible to rebuild.

I have to declare bias as an ex chartered librarian and trustee for the professional association.

The governance and financing in the US is different and I always had the impression that libraries had a better profile in the community there than they do here. It's great if you still have huge libraries but will they last if user numbers are falling?

In a desperate attempt to get back on topic. If Fort had been researching over here 60 years ago, he would have had access to considerable resources in his nearest town. If he was researching today he would have very little locally and would have to visit a "hub" (God awful new speak) like a County town or London - or use the internet. We are not encouraging talent like his.

In the US, the public has access to more and better sources than Fort did. Of course, any researcher has to verify his data source.

In the US:

1. Public libraries dominate. City, county, state, Federal, and state schools, colleges, and universities.
2. Public libraries are funded, in decreasing order of $$$ through taxation, grants, and donations. Most of them, I suspect, rely more and more on volunteers to do stuff like shelf reading and cleaning the bathrooms.
3. Back in the 1970s-1980s, librarians started discussing the goals of libraries, and decided to include different media sources which the library users could access: books, magazines, newspapers, microfiche, internet, ebooks, cd-dvd disc music and video. Some libraries also have historical records. Most city libraries have private study and meeting areas which one can reserve. City libraries are used as meeting places for counselors and advocates for adult literacy, youth crises, LGBT, mental health, etc. Some city libraries have onsite snack and eating areas. Most have separate rooms filled with used books which you can buy; these are manned by volunteers. Most city libraries also have bookmobiles which go to areas distant from the library building, to get media to people who can't go to the building. Most bigger libraries have books in different languages, not just English, to support those who do not read English.
4. Interlibrary loans of books across different library areas. So, I could be in Indiana, and request a book which may be lent by any public library in the country. It just depends on where my local librarian found it first. Th internet made this possible on a national scale.
5. Public libraries now follow different classification schemes, sometimes within the same library district. This drives me nuts.
6. To increase accessibility to more people, some libraries have stopped formerly conventional classification systems, such as the Dewey decimal, and just thematically lump books together. If a book could be classified in several different ways, one needs a librarian to find it. This drives me nuts.
7. Some libraries are organized into what is called "popular library" contents. So, if a book is popular, based on how many times it has been checked out over the past calendar year, it stays. If not, it goes. So, classic authors of different genres are no longer found. No Asimov, Austen, etc. But multiple copies of JK Rowling. This drives me nuts, etc.

As you can tell, I love libraries. I have used them wherever I have been. Librarians are my heroes.

Tunn11, I have no idea what changes are in store for US libraries. How are public libraries funded in the UK?

 

[Tunn11]

In the US, the public has access to more and better sources than Fort did. Of course, any researcher has to verify his data source.

In the US:

1. Public libraries dominate. City, county, state, Federal, and state schools, colleges, and universities.
2. Public libraries are funded, in decreasing order of $$$ through taxation, grants, and donations. Most of them, I suspect, rely more and more on volunteers to do stuff like shelf reading and cleaning the bathrooms.
3. Back in the 1970s-1980s, librarians started discussing the goals of libraries, and decided to include different media sources which the library users could access: books, magazines, newspapers, microfiche, internet, ebooks, cd-dvd disc music and video. Some libraries also have historical records. Most city libraries have private study and meeting areas which one can reserve. City libraries are used as meeting places for counselors and advocates for adult literacy, youth crises, LGBT, mental health, etc. Some city libraries have onsite snack and eating areas. Most have separate rooms filled with used books which you can buy; these are manned by volunteers. Most city libraries also have bookmobiles which go to areas distant from the library building, to get media to people who can't go to the building. Most bigger libraries have books in different languages, not just English, to support those who do not read English.
4. Interlibrary loans of books across different library areas. So, I could be in Indiana, and request a book which may be lent by any public library in the country. It just depends on where my local librarian found it first. Th internet made this possible on a national scale.
5. Public libraries now follow different classification schemes, sometimes within the same library district. This drives me nuts.
6. To increase accessibility to more people, some libraries have stopped formerly conventional classification systems, such as the Dewey decimal, and just thematically lump books together. If a book could be classified in several different ways, one needs a librarian to find it. This drives me nuts.
7. Some libraries are organized into what is called "popular library" contents. So, if a book is popular, based on how many times it has been checked out over the past calendar year, it stays. If not, it goes. So, classic authors of different genres are no longer found. No Asimov, Austen, etc. But multiple copies of JK Rowling. This drives me nuts, etc.

As you can tell, I love libraries. I have used them wherever I have been. Librarians are my heroes.

Tunn11, I have no idea what changes are in store for US libraries. How are public libraries funded in the UK?

Public libraries via "council tax" paid to local authorities, although based on a "penny rate" (old penny 1/240th of a pound sterling) of one penny in the pound collected. I don't think there is a fixed level any more. Local authority budgets are supplemented by central govt. Academic libraries are funded differently.

The legislation (Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 and odd add ons) stated a duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient service free at the point of delivery; but never defined it! There were sets of "standards" imposed in 2001 but they were IMHO pretty badly thought out. e.g. six issues of JK Rowling is worth six times one issue of Stephen Hawking. Hence stuffing libraries with Dan Brown not Dickens.

Very little investment has been made in buildings and infrastructure, so while being a "community hub" there is in practice very little space to allow study, children's activities, meeting space etc. ( I had to get IT into a building opened before the advent of powered flight) Many buildings are still Carnegie gifts. New media have been introduced, old stock sold, and services concentrated with others -usually swimming pools though (!). Experience shows that siting libraries near to retail helps both, but it doesn't happen often.

Some charitable funding (Gates foundation, some literacy charities) and grant funding has helped but usually require matched funding and "sustainability" not always easy to achieve.

Privatisation has meant that private firms now provide these and other services to local authorities and try to make a profit doing it - the results IMHO show.

Inter library loans still exist but in a more diluted form. I have obtained stock from the British Library and libraries abroad in the past. Ther were also cooperative buying (and withdrawing) schemes to ensure that areas of the country covered various subject areas comprehensively and made them available elsewhere

The net book agreement - a set retail price for a book with a 10% discount for libraries was abolished here as it was in many other countries. However, as I understand it in the US if a publisher offered a book with a retail price of $10 to Wallmart at 50c they had to offer it to the local bookstore at 50c no matter how many copies they bought. Wallmart could sell them as a lost leader for $1 and only make 50c per copy but so could the small bookstore. Over here they can sell a £10 book to Tesco for 50p if they buy hundreds of copies but can sell to the small bookshop at £7.50 as they only want ten copies. This means larger bookshops and even supermarkets get all the trade for the popular stuff and are not interested in anything else. Hence small bookshops and publishers go under. Libraries were often places where people found these books so they lost out as well.

Most of our libraries use Dewey but it has been dumbed down - to some extent offset by computer searching which should be able to guide you to the item wherever it is - however browsing and the consequent serendipity is lost.

Have sort of survived being re branded as "ideas stores" and the like

Sorry for an off topic rant but relevant to library research in Fort’s time and now perhaps.

 

[catseye]

We have a thing called PLR in the UK, which tracks the borrowing of books so that authors get a payment once a year for all the times their books have been borrowed across the country. My PLR payment has increased year on year (admittedly, so have the number of books that I've had published, but the payment has been more than that), so I conclude that people are still using libraries to borrow books. You can borrow ebooks now too, and audio books (which are included in the PLR payment). I think libraries are still great for reading books that you may not want to own or re-read, but would at least like to have read once. And some books can still be expensive, even as ebooks (a friend's new release is going at £5.79 for the ebook, I dread to think how much the paperback will be). So, even with all the drawbacks and infrequent opening and volunteer workers, libraries are still a valuable resource for those who love reading but don't have huge disposable incomes.

Libraries (at least, round here) also host a lot of 'book related' events, like authors' talks and book clubs.

 

[Sabresonic]

We have a lovely library in Newcastle called the Lit and Phil and I go for put a pound in a tin for a self serviced Coffee, get a book on either sport, music or yours truly and relax in the zen like peace in a place quite similar to Harry Potter.
https://www.litandphil.org.uk/

 

[maximus otter]

With the current and upcoming economic crunch, and the (IMHO) misguided strategy of shifting to unreliable renewable energy sources, l think a lot of centrally-heated libraries are going to become lifesavers for impoverished OAPs next winter.

maximus otter

 

[Mythopoeika]

With the current and upcoming economic crunch, and the (IMHO) misguided strategy of shifting to unreliable renewable energy sources, l think a lot of centrally-heated libraries are going to become lifesavers for impoverished OAPs next winter.

maximus otter

You make the assumption that the libraries will get funding for heating.

 

[Cochise]

Well I like my local library. And I use it, now it's open again. The Web may be a wonderful thing, but it's not to be relied upon for solid information. Things get covered in a few hundred words that need tens of thousands.

Edit: And to be fair, it is a good place to keep warm and/or out of the rain

 

[Trevp666]

There is a library in a village not far from here that used to be a Fire Station.
The Fire Station got demolished and rebuilt as a Fire Station including a library and a community space with a 'multi-use' hall, along with a secure area for the police/banks to use.
I think there are 2 banks which offer a service twice a week.
So quite well thought through really.

 

[Tunn11]

Newcastle and Birmingham were the news grabbing big builds of the last couple of decades, I have visited Newcastle - and Brighton and they show what can be done.

PLR has had its problems and critics (does it do enough to help new authors? etc.) but it does give a return for authors who have multiple readers for one sale. I wonder whether sales in charity shops ought to count towards it as well?

Charity shops have IMO had an effect on libraries as well. Bean counters are never happy with "free at the point of access" so insist on overdue charges are put up to ridiculous levels. It is therefore cheaper for some users who just want holiday reading, etc. to buy books from the charity shop, they sometimes cost less than the overdue charge if they forget to return it. The more they put the charge up the fewer people used the service or allowed items to go overdue and the income dropped - so they put th e charges up again.

I once suggested that use would go up if everyone eligible was allowed 10 items from the library and couldn't have any more unless some were returned (or paid for if lost) No overdue charges but hopefully more use. Plenty of opportunity to publicise a new initiative. Let's just say it wasn't popular.

A warm place, or a comfortable space or even a safe respectable space for young people (to some Asian communities) as well as somewhere for tramps to dry their socks are all things libraries have been used for. Many new builds (I was in one for a while) use useless eco friendly heating and cooling. Don't know about the public but I was frozen in winter, boiled in summer (and drenched when the roof auto vent opened in a thunderstorm). There was one "official" thermometer which recorded the temperature. I swear it was painted on and I was physically prevented from sticking it in a cup of hot coffee to test it!

The shared space concept has many merits but often they are not constructed well and people studying often complain about chidren's activities, talks, cafes, etc because they are all too close. A lot of people don't have access to quiet or at least calm study space at home anymore.

There has been a big emphasis on children's services of late which is fine but problems arise when students are next to a room full of stickies all singing "The wheels on the bus." There then seems to be an acceptance that when they reach their teens they will discover sex and rock n roll and not come back until their dotage, but then they don't offer much for teens or young people at work etc.

 

[ramonmercado]

You make the assumption that the libraries will get funding for heating.

Well, they could always burn the books to keep warm.

 

[Lobeydosser]

Hadn't noticed this thread before, I can say with some certainty what libraries in the UK are"for" nowadays as it was a large part of my last job. I work in IT and for 6 years (was meant to be a 6 month temp contract - but that's Councils for you) I was involved in modernising and basically replacing IT throughout a major Scottish council area.
Libraries can't be closed (trust me if they could the Council would)- why ?
Well no great altruistic reason - the UK government (of various political stripes dating back 20 years) has made it so that all benefits - unemployment, Pensions etc - in fact all Government systems are to be solely accessed by computer.
They have been closing Job centres etc like nobodies business and have landed the councils with the repsonsibility of making sure there are facilities to provide said online access. Thus whatever else a library will have - it will have computers, so you can run the local job club if nothing else.
This neatly moves the funding from National gov to Local Gov in the process.
It is all very cynical and also disadvantages those who may be less technically literate - in the uk you wont even get considered for anything gov related - pension, housing, jobs , asylum etc etc unless you first make an online account, have e-mail etc.
This means library staff become defacto social workers having to guide folk through all this.
The side benefit is that it keeps the libarary open.

 

[Ogdred Weary]

I try to use libraries as much as I can to keep them going as it were, some are in lovely 19th/20thC buildings which I would prefer to remain in public ownership and public use.

 

[catseye]

PLR has had its problems and critics (does it do enough to help new authors? etc.) but it does give a return for authors who have multiple readers for one sale. I wonder whether sales in charity shops ought to count towards it as well?

There are moves afoot to get author payments from books sold second hand (through charity shops, etc), but I'm not sure how that's going to work, unless every charity shop has computer access. There would also need to be cross-checks, as many of the books sold second hand are by deceased authors whose agents collect their payments and distribute accordingly - and how would a charity shop be able to sort the paperwork? I think it would probably run like ALCS, where there's just a lump sum which is distributed to authors according to how many books they have out..

PLR's job isn't to help new authors though. It's the Public Lending Right - so if your book is publically lent, you have a right to some money. For many many years my PLR payment was double or triple my royalty figure.

 

[GerdaWordyer]

Duh. . . Libraries are for getting and reading books when you can't afford books. Especially lovely new books.

 

[Tunn11]

There are moves afoot to get author payments from books sold second hand (through charity shops, etc), but I'm not sure how that's going to work, unless every charity shop has computer access. There would also need to be cross-checks, as many of the books sold second hand are by deceased authors whose agents collect their payments and distribute accordingly - and how would a charity shop be able to sort the paperwork? I think it would probably run like ALCS, where there's just a lump sum which is distributed to authors according to how many books they have out..

PLR's job isn't to help new authors though. It's the Public Lending Right - so if your book is publically lent, you have a right to some money. For many many years my PLR payment was double or triple my royalty figure.

I'm glad it helped, it seems only fair given the effort and artistry involved in writing a book.

My experience of PLR was very limited mainly conversations with booksellers. Some best selling authors allegedly were dismissive as there was an upper cap on payments which "didn't reflect the real value they should have from library loans".

One new author for whom we hosted a publicity event (sales, signing, etc.) for virtually nothing as she was local, was not happy as she was below the threshold of loans for payment.
"I won't get anything from the loans from the copies you've bought." (O.K. but if we don't buy any you certainly won't will you?)

Most booksellers felt that they made a number of sales because people had "discovered" an author in the library. They probably would not have bought the book otherwise.

I remember attending a talk by one of the Foyles who said that he was amazed how people would complain about paying (at the time) £5.00 for a book that had taken years of the author's life to write and yet would happily pay £2.00 for a birthday card that looked as if it had taken ten minutes to put together and would be in the waste bin next week.

I'm not sure how the abolition of the NBA affected authors. I was told, again by a bookseller, that at least one publisher had asked authors to take a cut in their payments because of it. The answer I gather was a longer version of "No".

 

[Coal]

I remember attending a talk by one of the Foyles who said that he was amazed how people would complain about paying (at the time) £5.00 for a book that had taken years of the author's life to write and yet would happily pay £2.00 for a birthday card that looked as if it had taken ten minutes to put together and would be in the waste bin next week.

Yeah, but people will do what they're gonna do and if a book seems too expensive (whether that's right or wrong) then they'll not buy it.

 

[MrRING]

I'm currently a staff member in Collection Development in a university library in the US. If there are any specific questions I can answer, ask away.

The major schema organizing our libraries that I know of are:

Dewey Decimal - most public libraries.
Library of Congress - this is the call number system we use
Government Documents - US G-Docs have a unique and super-annoying style of organization that few people can read. I can, due to shelving them for years, but it is a dying classification as most G-Docs are now electronic only
Rental Books - most folks don't know this, but the vast majority of popular reading material is packaged to libraries with their own unique code. Just an indication of what the items are - B for Biography, NF for Non-Fiction, and Fic for Fiction. These book are not owned, but rented by the library for a period of time, about a year. At the end of the year, you have to return 85% of the books, with the others being added to the permanent collection.

And at least with Library of Congress, there is a vague rhyme and reason, but some of the divisions are arbirary to my mind about how they are organized. If you have a book on a cartoonist, it might be listed in the cartoon section, or in fine art, or in biography, based on what somebody felt the book best fit. Also, most cataloging these days is bought along with the book (or the rental fee) and uploaded to the OPAC automatically. The days of large cataloging units is largely a thing of the past, and our little team mostly concentrates on keeping the ship afloat and massaging errors with occasional original cataloging.

 

[Tunn11]

I'm currently a staff member in Collection Development in a university library in the US. If there are any specific questions I can answer, ask away.

The major schema organizing our libraries that I know of are:

Dewey Decimal - most public libraries.
Library of Congress - this is the call number system we use
Government Documents - US G-Docs have a unique and super-annoying style of organization that few people can read. I can, due to shelving them for years, but it is a dying classification as most G-Docs are now electronic only
Rental Books - most folks don't know this, but the vast majority of popular reading material is packaged to libraries with their own unique code. Just an indication of what the items are - B for Biography, NF for Non-Fiction, and Fic for Fiction. These book are not owned, but rented by the library for a period of time, about a year. At the end of the year, you have to return 85% of the books, with the others being added to the permanent collection.

And at least with Library of Congress, there is a vague rhyme and reason, but some of the divisions are arbirary to my mind about how they are organized. If you have a book on a cartoonist, it might be listed in the cartoon section, or in fine art, or in biography, based on what somebody felt the book best fit. Also, most cataloging these days is bought along with the book (or the rental fee) and uploaded to the OPAC automatically. The days of large cataloging units is largely a thing of the past, and our little team mostly concentrates on keeping the ship afloat and massaging errors with occasional original cataloging.

There is also:
Universal Decimal Classification (UDC): Mainly used in academic libraries - looks superficially like Dewey but enables content indexing.
Bliss: Again academic libraries I've only ever dealt with one library that used it and I'm not sure whether they still do.
Not sure of their use in the USA though.
For public libraries over here in the UK most classification is contracted out to library books suppliers (or was when I was involved some years ago ).

Don't know of any rental systems in use in the UK (sounds a good idea) as disposal of unwanted stock always caused controversy!

 

[Trevp666]

There is also OITL which is 'Only in this library', whereby the books etc are arranged according to something other than the usual systems. Such as by colour. Or size.

 

[Ronnie Jersey]

I was just at our local library visiting, and requested several books, but they are not available in the system.
So I have to purchase them myself, getting more and more difficult to find some books, seems they are printing less.

 

[Tunn11]

I was just at our local library visiting, and requested several books, but they are not available in the system.
So I have to purchase them myself, getting more and more difficult to find some books, seems they are printing less.

Yes, this is how it begins!

In the old days (in the UK at least) we would then either buy them or apply to other regions of the UK, then the British Library (lending division) then abroad, then the British Library to allow you access to a reference only copy. The British Library along with National Libraries of Wales, Scotland Dublin and Cambridge University and the Bodleian Oxford are legal deposit libraries and publishers are required to send a copy of every work to them free. There was often a charge and or a hefty deposit required of whoever borrowed it if lending copies were available but at least you had access to, theoretically, to everything published in the UK.

Now I'm guessing it is just - We haven't got it, try Amazon.

 

[Ronnie Jersey]

Yes, this is how it begins!

Now I'm guessing it is just - We haven't got it, try Amazon.

That's exactly what I was told - 'Try Amazon!'
Welcome to the brave new world. LOL
My feeling is that we are being herded towards 'kindle' and the like.