Total Recall
I had dinner at a friend's tonight. We were having a pleasant time, chatting of this and that. As people do.
Then I glanced at her coffee table. And sitting on it was a very familiar book. A very familiar library book. And I said, "Say, are you reading Landscape, Liberty, and Authority? Did you happen to have recalled it recently? Say, for instance, LAST THURSDAY???"
She had, indeed, recalled the book from me. Which is, of course, ok. It was a funny moment, though. We all recall books, but it's a practice that generates a fair amount of resentment.
Because our university library permits one to recall books from other patrons even if that other patron has just checked the book out that very day (I had, in fact, had the book for about 36 hours when my friend recalled it). And then the library charges the recallee $2 a day if they don't return it. And the system permits one to recall a particular copy of the book, so people will recall a volume that could easily be found in a different branch of the library just because they're too lazy to walk 1/2 a mile to get it.
But even beyond these quibbles with how the recall policy is implemented, it can just be downright frustrating to have a book taken away from you. Doubly so if there is a pattern of recalls, if all the books on a particular subject started getting summoned. Newness is key in academia and it can produce a kind of paranoia to think that someone is working on a similar project. And the last thing this place needs is more neurosis and anxiety. I had a colleague once confess that he had recalled a book from himself without realizing it. And then had a small crisis because he needed that book.
Once upon a time, the library here used to tell you who was recalling your books. They thought it would foster scholarly community. They stopped this practice when they realized that it was more likely to foster scholarly stabbings.
Then I glanced at her coffee table. And sitting on it was a very familiar book. A very familiar library book. And I said, "Say, are you reading Landscape, Liberty, and Authority? Did you happen to have recalled it recently? Say, for instance, LAST THURSDAY???"
She had, indeed, recalled the book from me. Which is, of course, ok. It was a funny moment, though. We all recall books, but it's a practice that generates a fair amount of resentment.
Because our university library permits one to recall books from other patrons even if that other patron has just checked the book out that very day (I had, in fact, had the book for about 36 hours when my friend recalled it). And then the library charges the recallee $2 a day if they don't return it. And the system permits one to recall a particular copy of the book, so people will recall a volume that could easily be found in a different branch of the library just because they're too lazy to walk 1/2 a mile to get it.
But even beyond these quibbles with how the recall policy is implemented, it can just be downright frustrating to have a book taken away from you. Doubly so if there is a pattern of recalls, if all the books on a particular subject started getting summoned. Newness is key in academia and it can produce a kind of paranoia to think that someone is working on a similar project. And the last thing this place needs is more neurosis and anxiety. I had a colleague once confess that he had recalled a book from himself without realizing it. And then had a small crisis because he needed that book.
Once upon a time, the library here used to tell you who was recalling your books. They thought it would foster scholarly community. They stopped this practice when they realized that it was more likely to foster scholarly stabbings.
posted by Feemus at
8:06 PM
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4 comments
