Ethics and Libraries

[GravyTrain]

Hello board, this will be one of many topics that i will bring to the board. I am a computer science major, and recently a thought was brought to my attention. during some of my research it was discovered that books can be printed very easily on electronic paper. This would do away with libraries. What is everyone's opinion on ridding the world of libraries, yet still being able to tap into the unlimited resources of books?

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"People who live in class houses shouldn't walk around naked." spoken by a very wise man.

[SHATOUSHKA]

i am not sure what your point is. are you attempting to rid the world of libraries, or books? i understand that you can print books from the computer...but for what?
as an admirer of literature, i do not see the point of ridding the world of libraries. something about that just doesn't seem right.
you do realize that not all persons own or have access to the internet. well, unless they can go to a library.

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~~share some greased tea with me~~
General Philosophy

[GravyTrain]

you have a very good point. and i must apologize for making my post so vague, i was rushed due to the fact that class was beginning as i was typing that post. The purpose of my post was to ask what peoples opinion was on libraries in general. The research that i did brought up the fact that it is now possible to have sheet of paper full of electric circuits that can be turned from black to white buy passing a current through them. this takes the internet one step further, no longer would a computer be needed (although some sort of interface would be needed) but rather just a sheet of paper that could very easily be turned into War and Peace with the flip of a switch. If this were to become wide-spread. the average person could then access any piece of literature or reference materail without ever having to step into a library. As for me, i do not like that idea, i feel that libraries are necessary for many reasons. i have my own views, and will express those if anyone would like. once again, i sometimes have trouble expressing my ideas, so if this is still confusing, i will make one more attempt if you desire, i feel this is a very valid thought.

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"People who live in class houses shouldn't walk around naked." spoken by a very wise man.

[TastinGood]

Gravy said "i feel that libraries are necessary for many reasons. i have my own views, and will express those if anyone would like"

Please elaborate.

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"If Lincoln had thought being the President was such a longshot, we'd have nobody's picture on the one dollar bill" -Arthur Fonzerelli (The Fonz)

[Alex]

We don't need no stinkin electricity to read.

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Alex

[doodoo]

Carved on stone or written on CDs, books will always be there. As for the libraries, after the arson of the Great Library in Alexandria I don't give a damn for book collections.

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Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeers!

[SHATOUSHKA]

*points-stabbing finger madly into the air*

hey hey hey!
i happen to be such a collector.


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~~share some greased tea with me~~
General Philosophy

[GravyTrain]

I am impressed, somewhat that i have gotten so many posts. I am also a little shocked in the shallow answers i have received thus far. TastinGood, (quite a name by the way), i will expand my thoughts. I feel that libraries have a very interesting mark on our culture. For example, think of some of the older libraries of the world. to be in one of these buildings is to know that you are in the same area that some of the greatest thinks of our time have been in. That is just something you can't come across just anywhere. If books and book collections were to go electronic, the card catalog would no longer be needed. yes, many card catalogs have already been weeded out by the newer computer systems. in some of the older libraries, the card catalog system is still in use, and that is quite an interesting venture, to open up the system and be able to tell by the condition of the card to know which books are more popular.

Alex, where in the world did that come from, no where in anything you said answer my question about your feelings on if getting rid of libraries was good or not. DooDoo, i am sorry that you feel so bad about book collections, they are something quite great, and in fact, can be quite valuable. and SHATOUSHKA, i applaud you.


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"People who live in class houses shouldn't walk around naked." spoken by a very wise man.

[doodoo]

There is something I read once, by some Karl Pope, Poper, whatever. The guy set up a thought experiment, according to which the world was destroyed sometime in the future and only the libraries survived the havoc, and a few hundred wretched people. His point was that those people would manage to rebuild the world as we know it, only by reading the books.

Asimov, as a story teller, is closer to my taste...

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Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeers!

[SHATOUSHKA]

oh wondrous double D--
what asimov story do you like the best?
this is not some trivial question i am asking. i really want to know which of his (short) works do you find the most profound.

for me, i have two, which i will list in order from the greatest to the least:

1.) the last question
and
2.) breeds there a man...?

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and you, gravy--
you applaud me for what?

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~~share some greased tea with me~~
General Philosophy