Purchases declined today

[altivo]

Being "the" reference librarian means I get all the flyers (and phone calls) trying to sell us new reference books. A few years ago this was fun. You got to see new shiny books and even buy them once in a while. The prices for library reference books are outrageously high, but even so, we could justify buying some of them.

In today's mail (real paper mail, with glossy color brochures!) I received sales offers for several new encyclopedias of animal life from Facts on File. These look gorgeous. All color photos throughout, with detailed articles on virtually all major species. There's a set for birds, a set for mammals, and a set for aquatic life. The writing is aimed at junior high reading levels. It would strain our budget to buy these (about $2000 for the three sets) but there's no point anyway. We can't even force a kid or even an adult to look at a printed reference book any more. The schools are reinforcing this behavior, so that they come to us and demand to use Google. Instead of reading an article written by a zoological expert in order to do their report on "tigers" they just Google for "tiger" and take whatever comes to the top of the debris. The really horrifying thing about that for me is that the schools are not teaching any kind of discernment as to the quality of the information, instead claiming that they are teaching "computer literacy" by encouraging kids to use Google instead of the reference books.

Anyway, no encyclopedias of animal life for us. Sigh.

Another batch of flyers were easier for me to pass up, not because the books aren't good, I'm sure they are, but because I know they'd never be opened here. These were from Routledge, and were encyclopedias of various world religions. I'd love to leaf through them, but I'll have to go to a really big library to do so:

Encyclopedia of Buddhism 924 pages, $250.00
Encyclopedia of Hinduism 1086 pages, $225.00
Sufism 4 vols., 1600 pages, $1043.00
Encyclopedia of Taoism 2 vols., 1300 pages, $315.00
Encyclopedia of the Historical Jesus 705 pages, first of four vols., $165.00

One might think that the last title would find some interest, but it won't and for the same reason that the others will not. We have no one interested in actually studying this sort of material. The adults' minds are already made up, and they don't want to hear anything that might contradict their set opinions. Furthermore, some will object strenuously to the idea of letting children see any of this lest it "give them ideas." It's all very sad. Allan Bloom was right when he wrote The Closing of the American Mind: How Higher Education has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today's Students except that he didn't go far enough. It's American cultural values that have done this, and the educational system is only a reflection of that larger problem.

Comments

[keeganfox.livejournal.com]

Yep, I see my own education now, in those 20/20 hindsight eyes, and I'm constantly saddened to see "education" being merely the ability to pass standardised tests.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

That's the issue now in K-12, yes. In higher education, though, it's the notion that a college education serves only one purpose, and that's to qualify the student for some specific job rather than to teach them critical thought and give them a broad comprehension of human culture, history, and social issues.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

I don't think that's a problem specific to the USA, actually... that kind of narrow-mindedness exists anywhere, alas. :/

As for the rest, I don't think using Google is actually a bad thing; high-quality glossy photograps etc. aren't a guarantee of quality, either. The important thing is to teach media competence and critical thinking, although I agree that saying "just use Google" is problematic if you don't do that. But then, so's saying "just check Britannica" (to a lesser extent, probably, but still).

But of course, it's still a pity; those books just sound beautiful.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yes, and they are from a source I trust, so it's not just the glossy color photos that attract me. The articles will all have sources cited and will be signed or initialed by the writers.

Using Google as a sole source for school research is a bad thing. Using it to get a quick answer or to lead you to more information on a topic is fine. Unfortunately, the US schools are now directed by the federal government to make kids memorize lists of facts that will help them pass standardized tests. Teaching how to think, or logic, or reasoning is no longer on the agenda. After all, people might realize that the government has been lying to them for years and throw the bums out, and we can't have that can we?

[schnee.livejournal.com]

*noddles* Oh, I know *you* would look beyond the glossy pics... the question is just whether the average schoolkid would. As long as there's knowledgeable people in libraries that make sure only good books get purchased, it's probably not an acute problem, but it still is better to teach media competence.

Mmm, and yeah, I agree... I often wonder whether schools are actually intended to give kids the best education they can get, or whether they're there to churn out masses of factory workers and easily-manipulated voters. c.c

And I also agree that using Google as the sole source for (serious) research is pretty much always a bad idea - but it's another source of information and shouldn't be cut out entirely, either.

[wolfgrowl.livejournal.com]

Pretty bad here. They are building a new library but given the declining literacy of graduates from our school system, and the atavistic culture perpetuated by the local ministers' association, I expect it to be populated with pop-up books about Jesus.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

*noddles* :/

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, if they have real librarian, chances are that an attempt will be made to present a broad spectrum of knowledge and views. However, if the local ministers are the kind that will picket out front with bullhorns announcing the end of the world because the library has a copy of Darwin (or Harry Potter) on the shelf, then I'm afraid even a seasoned librarian might cave. If they hire someone without a degree or experience, then from the get go chances are it will be totally manipulated content.

[goldenstallion.livejournal.com]

Dear Rider.

I would LOVE to read those, particularly the animal life encyclopedias.

The religious encyclopedias sound fascinating as well. But I agree that most religious persons have very closed minds. What American cultural values?!

At work there is Pete, a basically nice, hard-working American guy age 40 who is fat and an ok but never a great aircraft mechanic, who is divorced and now wants nothing to do with women, marriage-wise that is... and is a devout NIGGER HATER! So I joke and tell him I hate nigger haters and he gets upset. Well gee there is NO place in human society for prejudice and yet it infects so many, ESPECIALLY the religious.

Prejudice, racialism, religious fanatasism.. I often wonder if there is any hope for human kind. Of couse, as an athiest, I see little hope for the future of our species and think that if we all died off it would be for the best. We are but a flash in the proverbial pan, universe-time wise.

Yet look at our great works in all fields. Makes me just want to cry or scream.

More reasons to love, respect, honer and cherish you, my wonderful Rider and librarian.

Imperator

[altivo.livejournal.com]

*blushes at the compliment*

There are two sets of American cultural values, actually. One set is mostly on paper today, the one that was held by Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin. That one favors free and open exchange of information and ideas, would brook no censorship, and has no tolerance for religious manipulation of public policy or law.

Then there's the real cultural values, the ones that are practiced. Those, unfortunately, are not nearly as open minded or liberal as the founding fathers might have hoped. Those are the values that equate criticism of the ruling regime with treason, thoughtful exploration of facts or artistic expression as a major threat to the status quo, and can't seem to distinguish fear and panic from practical security.

[zenicurean.livejournal.com]

Furthermore, some will object strenuously to the idea of letting children see any of this lest it "give them ideas."

Not only have I never met anyone who invokes this excuse -- though I've heard of them, so I know they're out there somewhere, lurking -- I've also never been able to quite wrap my brain around the objection. I mean, giving them ideas would be the point of the exercise, surely.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

You live in a society that doesn't suffer from this particular mental deficiency. It's a product of Calvinist Puritans and the same school of thought that once prohibited females from being educated because it would "damage their wombs" by stealing the blood supply for the brain. I kid you not.

A huge faction of the US population is strongly in favor of censorship. They want to obstruct any discussion or dissemination of ideas they don't like. Never mind the fact that they can't agree on what to censor, they still approve of the concept. Ideas and thinking are dangerous, after all, and might lead to the thing they fear most: change.

An offer of sorts

[gabrielhorse.livejournal.com]

Altivo, I am making a pledge here and now- if you ever get some kind of online net thingie for discussion threads and topics that are open to the general public- I promise to be willing to head up a section labeled "critical thinking". I'd even be willing to be a moderator or whatever they call them. You just let me know and I'm your guy on this *raises left hand solemnly* On this I swear!

Re: An offer of sorts

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I might yet get to have such a thing. I'll let you know if it happens. :)

Re: An offer of sorts

[gabrielhorse.livejournal.com]

^_^ I'd be glad to help. The issue of children growing up without a way to discern things bothers me deeply. Just give me the info, webaddy and some sort of password thingie :P I'm your horse... er, man :)

Are you a man or a horse?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Doesn't matter. I like either.

Re: Are you a man or a horse?

[gabrielhorse.livejournal.com]

*ponders* I'm a 'Morse' :P Actually, some people say I'm a smartass ;)

Re: Are you a man or a horse?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

That's fine. I like donkeys too. ;p

Re: Are you a man or a horse?

[gabrielhorse.livejournal.com]

I'm whichever one can come eat some of your cooking ^_^

Re: Are you a man or a horse?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Any of them that can wash their hands and sit calmly at the table can do that. XD

Re: Are you a man or a horse?

[gabrielhorse.livejournal.com]

*looks at hooves* O_o

Re: Are you a man or a horse?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well if you're quad and only have hooves, that's different. But you're also probably not interested in my cooking beyond maybe the oatmeal cookies or the salad. I was picturing back hooves and front hands, the way Chris Sawyer draws 'em.

Re: Are you a man or a horse?

[gabrielhorse.livejournal.com]

Not interested in your cooking? Nonsense. I ate an entire artichoke heart once that someone prepared for me, simply due to the sheer "exoticness" of it. It wasn't easy- they'd slathered it with some kind of sauce that made it extraordinerally bitter (maybe vinegar)- but in the end I enjoyed it despite that. Generally, these days, if someone makes something for me, I eat it regardless of how outside of my normal palate it is. Rice with curry? Fine. Cheese with Halapeno peppers in it? Great! Tofu-based burger thingie? Pass the mayo and let's eat! Anything is better than the crap they serve in jail. I'd try beef tongue before I'll ever touch that watered down Kool-aid imitation they serve again. I probably lost a month off my lifespan eating their so-called "food".

Heh, as a man, I think I act fairly civil at the dinner table. No crude humor, burping or slurping- and I even keep my elbows off the table ;) I sometimes get the wrong utensil for the wrong dish, but otherwise, I do alright. *puts napkin in lap, folds hands & looks up attentively*

Re: Are you a man or a horse?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Heh. Artichoke hearts are naturally bitter in my opinion. I can't quite see the point of them.

I certainly didn't mean to imply that you had bad table manners. ;p You're the one who looked at your hooves when I mentioned washing hands.

Re: Are you a man or a horse?

[gabrielhorse.livejournal.com]

It's a habit of mine... I seem to accumulate dirt, oil & various other debris without even being aware of it, especially under my fingernails. If I spend ten minutes in the yard, I end up with ten minutes of clean up afterwards :P

Re: Are you a man or a horse?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

You'll find a brush, soap, and towels in the bathroom. We'll hold dinner for you. XD

Re: Are you a man or a horse?

[gabrielhorse.livejournal.com]

*laughs as I head for the bathroom* You know, I'm looking forward to the age of robot companions mainly because I can own a 'bot that can follow me around and act like a portable sink/bathroom mirror... All it would have to carry would be a razor, a comb and a bar of soap ^_^

[saythename.livejournal.com]

Ya know, this is why the reference books pretty much stay
the same.

I mean, I, literally, could guage my age by those books in the
big library downtown. They only updated them (at the cost of,
well you prolly know the cost of a metropolitan library getting
all new refs) about 1995.

I'll be reading those till I'm dead.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, typically, what happens is you can't buy all new at once. So you buy one new set of encyclopedias every year or every two years, as you can afford it. And you cycle through, updating World Book one time, Britannica another, Compton's the next... Unless someone donates a set, that's as much as you get.

Library budgets are not keeping up with inflation of course. And because sales of reference books are declining (and no one buys encyclopedias for home use any more) the publishers keep raising their prices to make up for lost sales. It's going to come to a point where there simply are no new print encyclopedias, that's for sure. At least not the generalized ones.

Specialized ones, like Grzimek's animal life or the Encyclopedia of Religion will be with us for a while longer, but updates will be increasingly rare and expensive.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Don't worry when the clever people take over the world you'll be separated from the idiots and the rest of the idiots will be put in cells to chuck crap against the walls.

*looks at the prices of books* Cripes inner peace and spiritual enlightenment have become expensive these days.