Book Rental Service: The Tower Is Crumbling
I was talking with a programmer at work the other day about the development of the Internet and web-enabled discourse. He was saying that back then, in the ’80s and early ’90s, pretty much anyone you talked to online was going to be pretty smart — you had to be, just to know what the Internet was and how to use it.
Now the worm has turned, and it’s choking on mouthfuls of its own nutritious excrement. The very thing that’s brought so many smart people together and fostered an exchange of ideas is making our kids stupid, filling their soft little impressionable skulls with marshmallow fluff and grey dishwater.
The Tower of Babel is crumbling, people. Look at this and try to tell me I’m wrong.
The illustration above is by my talented friend David William — pretty sharp, huh?
January 29th, 2008 at 7:30 am
There’s actually a couple of book trading websites, as well as stuff trading websites, cd, dvd, and even websites to trade places to stay for a week.
I use a cd one and it works very well, especially to get rid of stuff I don’t like.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:37 am
David — I mean no disrespect here, because I am about to shout in all caps here — but what outrages me here is that there is a FUCKING LIBRARY in most towns. I’m shouting at that kid, not you, mind you. It’s jsut that libraries are the wellspring of so many wonderful things, and this little asshole has no idea. Makes me want to take the poor guy by his little cheeto-stained hand down to Larchmont Library in Norfolk for story hour and some Steven King paperbacks, just to show him myself.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:38 am
David – she wasn’t asking for book trading websites. She was asking for the equivalent of ‘a video rental store’. You know. A library.
Jeff – this is mind-blowingly painful. I may never sleep again. I hope you’re happy.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:27 am
I weep for the future. I weep for it openly.
January 29th, 2008 at 9:17 am
@Dave: dude you are *so* missing the point!
@Jeff: It can’t be the internet’s fault that this poor benighted kid’s first reaction to his sister’s perceived problem is to suggest an online solution. What about his parents? What about his school? What about the town councillors who plainly aren’t publicising his local library service?
The internet doesn’t make potentially smart people dumb… it just gives frightening glimpses of the true horror of what fully formed morons think.
(Example: the baffling reaction your friend got on College Humor: she’s actually v cute, but more importantly it’s a sketch… so… wtf has her phantom acne got to do with anything?)
In short, I reckon that for once there’s a silent majority that doesn’t scare the crap out of me: the good-natured intelligent people who trundle along the intertubes laughing and frowning at what’s out there but don’t feel the need to say anything more on the subject.
[crosses fingers and prays that this is the case]
January 29th, 2008 at 10:07 am
At first I laughed, but then I thought about it, and now I’m depressed.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Jeff… I’m with you on the screaming.
Then I want to scream at the parents, and whatever school that kid goes to. Do schools do trips to the library anymore?
January 29th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
@Oliver — It’s more insidious than that. It doesn’t just make people dumb, it gives *just enough* knowledge to kill the urge to seek more. Mcdonald’s, in and of itself, does not make America fat. But if you fill up on burgers, there’s no room for broccoli, is all I’m saying. And since when have you seen an advertisement for a library? What next, commercials for the bathroom?
I digress. I’m goofing here, and I do see your point. Plenty of smart people use the Web and learn a lot from it. But it’s NOT the only answer — and a lopsided diet leads to a nation of fatness, physically and intellectually.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
The libraries in my town seem to be used only by the homeless. And that’s just because they can check their e-mail and look at porn. What the hell has happened to us all?
January 29th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
@Jeff
Actually they do advertise libraries in the UK: local councils put up posters at swimming pools, theatres, etc. in a sort of cultural cross-sell. Mind you, about 12% of British adults are functionally illiterate, so perhaps it isn’t the most devastatingly effective strategy… :/
On a more positive note it seems that both Amazon and Google looked into the book rental service a while back:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/14/google_amazon_bitsofbooks/
So, while I take your point too, maybe young Selekta isn’t the harbinger of doom we initially thought he was?
January 29th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
They were smart in the 80′s and 90′s? About Star Trek maybe.
January 30th, 2008 at 7:54 am
Ha ha
Pity there is no way of keeping the dump people away from the internets.
Lock them in libraries around the world maybe?
January 30th, 2008 at 9:23 am
I guess that answers the question, “Is our children learning?”.
January 30th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Then there is the half.com method. Buy the book for say $15 and then sell it shortly thereafter for $12. So for $3 plus $2 postage (media mail) you can “rent” a book and keep it as long as you want. The problem with libraries is you have to actually go to the library, carry your stupid library card, and then travel back to the library two weeks later. Now you have to read your 800 page Harry Potter in the two weeks they give you. Fines if you’re late. And the annoying plastic wrap the libraries put on it. For the new books, you’re lucky if the library even has it – and if they do, guaranteed its checked out.
Oh, and have you seen the Walmart types that get books from the library. And yes I am a Target snob, thank you very little.
Going through the internet’s toobs, the book ships to your door, and you can read it at your leisure. Then turn around and flip it whenever you want. Pretty simple, eh?
January 31st, 2008 at 6:22 am
Since I’m responding to a blog post, and comments, I’ll assume we’re all hooked up to the Interslice. That means that you can take full advantage to the online component of libraries. -Most- libraries in America have a website with their online catalog. After dragging your ass down to the library to get your card, you can then spend a minimal amount of time at the actual library.
Search all the libraries in your consortium (not just the bricks-and-mortar library in your community) for books, movies, DVDs, CDs, sheet music, art work, etc. Place them on hold. Wait till the library emails you that they’ve been gathered, then go pick them up. Two weeks later? Log into your account again to renew.
I don’t want to indicate that Ed, for instance, is somehow at fault for not knowing how easy it can be. There are many layers to that problem, and I acknowledge that librarians are part of it. We’ll have to roll over to the 2.0 version of life, (trust me, we’re talking about it – the word Googlezon is one way of describing the hella-easier way to search) but in the meantime, it’s really not that bad.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Dare I say it, I think Selekta was referring to the convenience of Netflix, to manage an online queue, have your items delivered to your home for free, and have no due dates or late fees. There are actually websites out there doing this, the leader of which is BookSwim.com. Libraries are great, but mine closes at 5pm every day and I work ’til 6pm.
July 24th, 2008 at 7:39 am
Maybe the kid meant book rental services for texts books which are hard to get at libraries… trying to be optimistic
July 26th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
I guess the internet makes everyone uptight dicks with no sense of humor because that is so blatantly a joke. I can even imagine the context it was taken from, prehaps someone said something stupid and he was mocking them. Perhaps they asked a stupid question. OY VEY!