Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Weeding

Anybody want an old, rattly, incomplete copy of Moby Dick on analog cassette?


Yeah. I didn't think so.

- Posted from my iPhone

15 comments:

Jake said...

If the only thing missing is the whale chapter.

OldeForce said...

Somewhat OT: Have you seen the new "Talking Books for the Blind" players? My wife recently received one of the new models. Much lighter and easier to us. If you have any elderly [hey, that's now me!] patrons who can't afford a Kindle, etc, you might want to let them know about the program. There aren't enough for everyone yet, but get them on the list. [BTW, with all the time the members of this family have spent and spend in libraries, we were glad that the locals approved a tax increase for the library system last Fall!] Support your local Librarian, especially if she carrues a gun!

breda said...

OldeForce - I'll look into those for our library. Thanks for the tip!

ZerCool said...

As read by the author, right?

Zendo Deb said...

So were the cassettes recorded before the publishing industry decided that we were only renting and not buying 1 copy of a work?

Is it legal to record the cassette on a CD and destroy the cassette? Probably not.

Earl said...

Weeding, that strange effort to get all the really good (well used and well worn) stuff off the shelves so only the lonely unwanted pulp is left... oh, I never liked weeding without buying a replacement copy. But I don't have a job any more, don't pay attention to me - weed on, weed on!

wv - frights

Lissa said...

Do they also give away the card catalogues when they move to computer? I've always been curious about that.

Weer'd Beard said...

I actually read Moby Dick on a 12 day fishing trip out of New Bedford. I suspect the copy I had was Mom's in High School. As I'd flip the pages the previously read ones would fall out. Saddly I pitched it over the rail as we were steaming home.

The Biology in that book is HORRIBLE! : ]

breda said...

Lissa - we still have the old card catalogs in the basement. I'd love to take one home with me ;)

Ed Rasimus said...

Some of the really good software offers help on weeding a collection. It gives you circulation numbers on an item so that you can weed the things that no one has used for an extended period. For libraries with limited space, it can be invaluable.

Of course, there remains the worn, tattered, abused and no longer functional stuff to dispose of as well as things that technology has passed by. At Pikes Peak we had a considerable collection of LP records and 8-tracks at one time. Maybe good for an historical archive but not much utility for regular circulation if no one has a player anymore.

sobriant74 said...

I'm sure that old cassette would make for fun on the range....

Anonymous said...

I played an audio cassette recently, and I was surprised that the hand skills for taking it out, turning it around, and pushing play all in a blink haven't gone rusty.

Odd.

Jim

brbiswrite said...

Ya know, folks, I actually liked that book. Read it twice, I did, many years ago. I may give it another reading. But then I'm a sucker for sea stories and biblical images/references/allegories. Put them all together and you have mess that is rather entertaining and impossible for college freshmen.

I can't imagine that anyone would actually read it aloud, and then try to market it.
BRB

Bradley said...

too bad its is the analog version, now if you had the digital version on tape i would be all over that. :snark:

fast richard said...

The number of audiobooks I currently have on a small portable mp3 player would not fit on a suitcase full of cassettes. I suppose for a library you need audiobooks in a physical form to lend out, but even CDs are bulky and awkward compared to mp3 based audiobooks.