The Distance Between

Have you ever noticed how politicians from the same party as the retiring incumbent take great pains to differentiate themselves? It's a fascinating dance to watch because the candidate wants to keep all the voters who are satisfied with the sitting office-holder while at the same time picking up votes from those who have become disenchanted. The more unpopular the leader is, the more the candidate distances him/herself, yet still feels the need to remind the electorate that things will "kind of" remain the same.

This is also the dance of the Biblioposer. Faced with the obsolescence fostered by a steadily growing illiterate tax base, librarians around the country are embracing the "we-are-more-than-books" mantra in a pathetic attempt to maintain relevancy. However, when push comes to shove at fundraisers or public forums in support of their buildings, they quickly fall back on their time-honored role as the custodians of the codex. It is becoming harder to maintain that position as the shelving melts away to make room for more computers, and the Information Scientists work hard to make sure the illusion of "research" is promoted with the use of their online databases. Is it not time to call a spade a spade? If the new library ethic is getting out of the building to meet with researchers wherever and whenever, then why are we worried about the library building any more? If you are going to make sure your customers use computers to answer their questions, then why do we feel like we need to build newer, and more expensive, book warehouses?

Send the books to the archives where they will be safe, and let the empty shelves in libraries speak volumes about the distance between the actual and the ideal.