Well, ST:
As the husband of a college librarian I'm in a pretty good position to track the continual erosion of interest in libraries. That is, except for special library functions, and, increasingly, those do not involve books .
Electronic media and the use of library sponsored Internet-capable computers are the big attractions in public libraries these days. College libraries are much the same.
Stealing and plagiarizing college papers became routine about ten years ago, then really accelerated with the "downloadable essay and term paper" syndrome from such sites as SCHOOLSUCKS.COM:
http://www.schoolsucks.com/
Their motto is "download your workload" and they feature animated nubile young ladies in apparent ecstasy over the ease of term paper availability.
There are many other such sites.
Many English departments, such as the two where I worked for the final years of my alleged "career" as a full Professor of English ( now emeritus . . .) today use the Internet service TURNITIN.COM
http://turnitin.com/static/home.html
as part of a campaign to slow down plagiarism as the standard method for passing college courses that require writing; but the effort is, however successful, misplaced in my view.
Teachers are usually responsible for plagiarism, since they often create the conditions under which it can flourish.
For this phenomenon, and for many others having to do with college and university life that are not so salubrious, I blame teachers and administration, not students.
But my point is that reading books is not required to obtain a college degree in a vast number of American colleges.
The book checkout rate has declined four hundred percent in the three college libraries in my county since 1980. While occasional well-meaning college managers try to encourage library use and attractiveness, few measures slow down the flagging interest among students and public patrons.
The library where my wife works, like many college libraries, is on the brink of building a Starbucks right inside the library next to the main circulation and reference desks. Many college libraries have already done the same, particularly in larger cities, and some public libraries have followed suit.
The item getting the greatest use in our college libraries is the computer, and library computers ( there are four hundred in my wife's library-- all connected to the Internet DSL high-speed on an Intranet, all capable of full video and audio use) are in constant use. Few books, comparatively, are ever checked out.
While money is available, but usually continually cut back, to buy new books, and librarians make out new book purchase orders, the real attention paid to book collections in the past has either ended or been greatly diminished. Books are no longer in as great a demand as in the 70's,80's and even 90's..
The current battle is over the relative worth of books or the Internet for scholarly study, and I'm speaking here of Masters' and Doctoral study.
Here is a useful article about "Educational Offshoring" and the need for reform in U.S. colleges and universities:
http://news.com.com/Offshoring+U.S.+nee ... 98156.html
How are the availability of and interest in books connected?
Books are slow, labor-intensive and require considerable language training to understand. Like everything else based on consumer capitalism, the Internet is fast, convenient and cost effective -- nearly free-- SchoolSucks stolen essays average about $35.
I typed "Dante's Inferno" into SCHOOLSUCKS.COM and found a paper on the topic, "Cities in Dante's Inferno" for 30 dollars.
( try it yourself)
TERM PAPERS MONTHLY, which can give me a ten-page term paper on "The Big Bang Theory", or one hundred twenty-nine others on the same topic, in addition to featuring the nubile young ladies in color with sunglasses and "Britney" tops, sells a membership for 180 days for $89.95.
Instead of reading any of the books indexed on this page:
http://library.moorparkcollege.edu/cgi- ... =10&HIST=1
like the first one by Karen Fox, explaining the theory, a student can pay for a pre-constructed and polished term paper, "guaranteed" to bring him 'at least a grade of "B"' from his professor.
Would you choose the book over the Internet Cheater Quick Fix?
You (ST) probably would choose the book, but most students would not, for the reasons I gave above.
Just a few reflections from inside.
I don't suppose, by now, that I have to tell you anything about my personal view of books, their sacredness, their ravishing magical attraction for me?
No, I didn't think so.
--Z
