Uberto Eco discusses the insitution of the anti-library. This is a personal library. It contains (for the most part) books that one might read sometime, but probably hasn't read just yet.
The more one knows, the more subjects or topical foci are likely to be included in the anti-library. Someone who doesn't know how to read, or doesn't like to read, or doesn't have any interest in books, is unlikely to develop a large anti-library.
In addition, the anti-library presumes a certain standard of living. A subsistence farmer with a hoe, a matchet, a sleeping mat, an iron cooking pot, and two sets of clothes (one for worship and holidays) is unlikely to develop much of a library, let alone an anti-library.
In some sense personal knowledge might grow linearly, while potential topics for the anti-library grow exponentially.
Most of my knowledge of the concept is second hand, as developed by Nassim Nicholas Taleb toward the very beginning of his book _the black swan_. But he credits Eco with the idea. Eco discusses the phenomenon very briefly (the read, unread, maybe-partly-read books littering the dwelling) in "how to justify a personal library," in his book _how to travel with a salmon_.
This is a great and grand topic for me because I have lots of books and am purging many of them in the next couple weeks.
Craig Scrivner (DS84) described the desire to hang onto one's old textbooks, other assigned books, favorite novels, etc. as "book cling."
This month I am waging a successful battle against book cling. Check this blog for further developments.
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The purpose of this thread is to talk about purging books. Yet I am tempted to discuss the things that lead to book accumulation.
"Snowballing into new topics" is one factor. I know for a fact that sometimes I become interested in a topic, and then that provides justification for getting books on it. At one point that happened to me with regards to economic history. At another point the same thing happened with regard to Modern African History and related topics.
Liking to read aggravates the situation, of course.
Annotating one's books contributes to "book cling," because annotating a book probably raises the value of a book for oneself, and simultaneously lowers it for many other people. Many choosy used bookstores don't like heavily annotated books, or books annotated in bright blue ink rather than (say) very light pencil).
if you become interested in another language, that makes things worse--then you have more languages to collect in. Presumably, this interacts with both literacy and wealth--if you speak three languages but are impoverished and illiterate, there is no big impact on your collecting.
Charlie, you have the anti-library of congress. For the sake of the ecology, I think you should consider composting rather than reselling them.
Your comment about annotation reminds me of the '85 TASP and Mickey comparing Donne and Marx on mixing labor with production.
Hey, I write about books. I teach students about books. I need books. No apologies necessary.
Son, that's one way to make mulch.
Yesterday I shipped two heavy boxes of books to Deep Springs. They went media mail "library rate," which is quite cheap.
most of them were Iowa City Public Library discard books. Some books get culled from the collection after just 5 years, or even less time than that. If there is not room and a book doesn't circulate, it gets weeded pretty quickly.
In contrast, books that circulate heavily arrive at the discard shelf in poor condition--sometimes worn or soiled, pages loose, hinges loose, etc.
some books that circulate heavily are stolen / lost and billed, too. They don't show up at the discard shelf because they are "self-liquidating" in the sense that they never even re-enter the library building.
I don't know why the Iowa City Public Library doesn't take some of the books and save them for Cedar Rapids, which is nearby (30 miles north and upstream on the Cedar rather than the Iowa). The Cedar Rapids library and books were ruined by the flood.
But I accept library behavior as a given (the way you accept a $20 bill on the sidewalk as a given). I no longer argue or kibbitz--I take what I want (if I have a use or can imagine it). SInce I don't read fiction much and can't recognize good fiction from bad (it's mostly contemporary) I tend to leave it for others.
Generally I have the sense that I wasn't a good student at DS, *or* a good reader...and I didn't know what I was interested in, so I don't know if they had a good collection in the areas that I eventually became interested in.
most of what I send tends to be
1. social sciennce
2. history
3. area studies
4. modern history of developing countries
5. economics and business
6. various topical focuses on social problems...
7. biography
more later. thanks for keeping the thread going...
Charlie, let us know. I still have some books I've enjoyed from your previous culls. Sowell's Race And Economics is a favorite.
yesterday (monday, bastille day) i made good progress--I got rid of at least 8 boxes of books. Some I managed to sell to used book dealers, some were spurned by them (so they went to my buyer of last resort who always says he has no money (thus he is my buyer of last resort)).
some others went to the "Crowded Closet" Mennonite Thrift shop.
The Iowa City Public Library has lots of space in it, but very little space for their bookstore. Hence most of their culls go straight to the "free shelf." As do most of their donations. Thus book dealers, homeschoolers, packrats, the bored and curious and many bookworms go to the free shelf just to see what they are giving away each day.
Most of the stuff I take from there (the free shelf) is ex-lib--was once owned by the ICPL (iowa city public library) or by some other library. In some ways, some of those (the class of books which are ex-lib) are better books--they are more likely to be hardcover, and with mylar dust jackets...which keep the dj's (dust jackets) from getting soiled.
in addition, most ex lib books have a lower market value--many people don't like to buy ex lib books, or many used bookstores don't like to sell them, or both.
alas, one of my storage units got damp this last near. It was a very heavy ice and snow year. some of the water from snow/ice melt was draining along the concrete slab, from the other side of the units through mine.
some things were ruined ( I had nearly all my books up on pallets, but not every single box without exception). Many more books have had their value degraded by developing "foxing", which tends to destroy market value.
My best buyer (murphy brookfield) shuns anything that is foxed. Apparently, foxing may be contagious and/or infectious (please humor any abuse of the english language here...).
fortunately, today is a dry sunny day, so it's possible to do more today. onward!
P.S.: doug, I really have learned something from reading Thomas Sowell. I don't think he's correct about everything, but he is often insightful, clear, and analytically coherent.
if you have never read his memoirs, I suggest them. they also occasionally channel his prickly personality, which probably helps him be disliked by many fuzzy minded liberals.
Sowell, Thomas. 2000. _A personal odyssey_.
two other titles I have enjoyed:
collier, paul. the bottom billion.
berstein, (william?). the birth of plenty.
did you ever look at deirdre mccloskey's bourgeois vitue? there will be 3 volumes in all. I have the 1st, and a bound draft of the 2d volume. A book that can keep you busy for a while...
Yesterday (15 July) I got rid of almost no books, but I did make progress sorting them into different groups and classes with various destinations (sell to discriminating stores; sell to my buyer of last resort; ship to Deep Springs; Give Away to Someone I Know; Give Away to Anybody (Probably Mennonite Thrift/Crowded Closet)).
Oh--and then there is that problematic category--"SAVE." Why do so many books end up in the category "SAVE"? What are the factors driving my own personal book cling? Tune in Tomorrow to find out.
Also for tomorrow: "How I ended up being an ESL Tutor." That will probably be started as a separate thread.
Charlie, I look forward to going deep inside your mind's culling process with no fear but some thrill of the unknowable.
Little or no progress yesterday. What happened? Oh, I was looking for bills that I have to pay. Today will be be better.
Charlie, I usually keep my bills between the pages of a book. Did you check at Caveat Emptor?
I usually keep my bills in a cardboard box.
I keep just about everything in some type of cardboard box.
In addition, I have about 50 different cardboard boxes in my apartment.
= - = - =
to elaborate, I do my best to keep loose papers in three ring binders, and books on shelves. but lots of things I keep in boxes.
= - = - =
Doug, I don't know any place called Caveat Emptor--just the maxim.
= - = - = - =
yesterday I got rid of 8 boxes of books. 3 boxes of books were exchanged for a grand total of $59 in cash.
the other 5 boxes of books were donated to the crowded closet (mennonite thrift store).
I have great admiration for the Mennonites. They had a small, flourishing, cheerful thrift shop next to a larger Salvation Army store.
The Mennonite store was nicer in a variety of ways. The Salvation Army store was big, kind of dim (poorly lit), dusty, rather forlorn. It was cavernous, under-used.
Salvation Army got out of the thrift store business (at least for the moment, and in our area). The Mennonites took over the old Salvation Army shop space and improved it greatly in ambience, cheerfulness, orderliness, mood, etc.
it grows and flourishes to the this day. Also, they seem to do a good job of accepting donations of almost anything that is sellable (like most places, they can't take anything that needs to be fixed).
I think I recall them taking in a reselling certain empty food containers that had a secondary market. old ice cream tubs? Something like that.
Apparently Amish and Mennonites do not purchase most forms of insurance, because to do so reflects a lack of faith in the Divine. Thus after a firebug burned down part of their store (starting from the donations shed) they rebuilt with their own resources.
They have a thought-provoking sign they have on their front door:
"This store belongs to God. If you steal from it, you are stealing from Him. It is easier to pay our price than to pay His."
= - = - = - =
I hope to keep up the pace today. Dry and sunny weather would help, but I cannot count on it this weekend.
Charlie, my fading and obsolescing mental map of Iowa City has a used book store called "Caveat Emptor" in an old house across the street from and North of the park that's across Gilbert from downtown. I think I bought a copy of "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison there once.
That sign would make me think twice, you bet.
wow!
i don't know if I remember that, or if I know the place.
there is haunted bookshop which is across the creek from the co-op.
there was a place next to Gabes (I think it was next to Gabes). it closed by 1992. technically, it is kitty corner from a park (Chauncy Swan, next to the parking garage).
Yesterday I got rid of three boxes, or two and a half. and got $34.
This morning I boxed up three boxes of books and sent them library rate to deep springs college.
in addition, I did not go to latest library sale, or even glance at any of things for sale at the sidewalk sales in downtown iowa city...
I've been trying to purge at least four boxes each day. Saturday I did three. Methinks that Sunday I just did one box of recycling.
Monday and Tuesday were slow. Rain, and getting ready for a French test. Yesterday (Wednesday) I did five--one box went to the Iowa City Public Library Discard Shelf; four went to the Mennonnite Thrift Store (Crowded Closet).
I am hoping to sell some books today, since I need the money and have identified some books that are probably the sort that book dealers in town with open shops would buy.
stay tuned for further developments.
not much progress today. I did move the bookshelf into the hall of my apartment building. I hope to get rid of lots of things that way.
Yesterday I did take three boxes to Mennonite Thrift Store--but then found more books at the ICPL free shelf.
It occurs to me that if you took out the wall between your apartment and the hall you could get rid of a bunch of things.
How correct you are! I decided it was easier to just set up some shelves on the sidewalk on Washington Street (very close to Java House) and just start giving some books away.
Making progress--but it's slower than I would like.
yesterday I moved out of my place--now i'm housesitting for a friend...
alas, it is against fire code to have a shelf in the hallway of your apartment--or in fact to keep anything in the hallway of an apartment building.
just in case you were wondering...
I made some progress yesterday giving away books to Hassan and Tijani who I know from the Mosque (both guys are Sudanese Nubians), and Patrick from Togo.
Hassan quoted for me an aphorism about people from Sudan liking to read: "Egypt writes. Beirut publishes. Khartoum reads." I've seen the same aphorism quoted for Bagdhad as well--perhaps by the labile op. ed. columnist Tom Friedman.
Hassan wanted books on business and public administration. Tijani likes math, so he took math books (high school math, university calculus, linear algebra, differential equations.
In every community there are people who can sit down and teach themselves something--they just need the book. Joseph Pristley's memoirs mentions this: "I taught myself French, Dutch and the High German without a master with a view to going into trade..." (actually I don't remember which languages he taught himself...he was reading polyglot bibles within the English dissenting community. You needed ancient languages for scholarship--the modern ones you just went and learned for yourself...
last week Chester took some books.
I had to take out some time to move out of my apartment last week--and also to take my "french for reading / research knowledge" class, which I did manage to get a good grade on (hooray!).
Kazeem sat with me this afternoon while I selected 8 boxes of books to take to Crowded Closet aka Mennonite Thrift. Mission Accomplished!
Kazeem is your genie friend?
kazeem olanrewaju is doing research on biodiesel when he is not providing spiritual guidance to Living Spring Fellowship.
he also does a quite credible imitation of a Lagos area boy.
That sounds very reputable, but you could really use a genie friend, I think.
or enough people who will take stuff for freee. it's almost the same. kind of like ants--removing a cupcake one crumb at a time...
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