The Adobe philosophy on not implementing page protection would pretty regularly cause some _spectacular_ problems/bugs --- in particular, I can recall one ill-formed .eps file which somehow disabled the new page mechanism and was supposed to re-enable it, and which when placed after a different .eps which had some code which interfered w/ said re-enabling, would cause the document to stop generating new pages, instead overlaying each successive page on top of the previous one.
One of the longest days of my life was generating a press-ready PDF using a beta of a then-new program called "pdftex" which would validate for the "Thomson Techno Task Force"'s standard... tried _every_ possible combination of printer drivers, PDF applications, and settings to learn that Adobe Acrobat would _not_ work, but Adobe Acrobat Reader would, that the printer driver had to be Apple's LaserWriter 8.6 (not the Adobe driver or some other LW version), and that the .ps file had to be PS Level 2 (not 3), but that "Generate Level 3 Page Semantics" had to be checked on.... over a quarter of a century since and that memory is still seared in my otherwise uncertain organic memory.
Naturally, this is all interwoven w/ the early history of the Macintosh and LaserWriter --- a couple of relevant stories on folklore.org
It's also notable that Display PostScript was largely developed by folks at NeXT such as Mike Paquette.
Anyone who is interested in PostScript should definitely get "The Green Book" by Glenn Reid (_PostScript Language Program Design_) as well as his wonderful _Thinking in PostScript_.
That said, my wife's aunt oversaw one of the largest Xerox Alto/Star networks in the U.S. Government, and when we would chat, her stories would all be about how well things worked and how easy it was to manage (aside from getting funding), while mine were all stories about fixing weird problems...
The version which I would really like to see would be a native distribution for the Raspberry Pi of the Oberon Workstation environment --- apparently there is a problem with the drivers which makes porting difficult.
It currently works on the 2b, 3b and Zero 2; the latter was my actual target because it is a very nice and still lean board available for ~15$ worldwide at least until 2030, and meets very well with the Oberon philosophy. With models like the 4 or 5 series, the Pi goes more and more away from its original leanness. So, currently I'm trying to migrate the system to the ESP32-P4 platform, which seem like the perfect fit for Oberon system, specifically the Olimex board with a HDMI socket.
ESP32 is a great SOC. Watch out for RAM issues though. I have an e-reader using an ESP32 that only has 180kb or so of usable RAM which makes things very difficult to work with. You will need to specify that it has to be the versions that have addressable RAM. Unless of course, all updates are entirely firmware and the limited memory is just to hold the text editor buffer.
That only works if all the libraries coordinate to determine which one will hold the last copy, and if the expense of moving such books around on request does not exceed that of storage.
Given the number of books I've been unable to find when I wanted them save in the Library of Congress (which won't loan, necessitating a trip to DC, or finding and purchasing my own copy), and the number of times my ILL requests have been turned down, a last copy per system mechanism seems the best for preserving access.
> That only works if all the libraries coordinate to determine which one will hold the last copy, and if the expense of moving such books around on request does not exceed that of storage.
> That only works if all the libraries coordinate to determine which one will hold the last copy, and if the expense of moving such books around on request does not exceed that of storage.
This is actually a mostly-solved problem in many cases. Many librarians have great SQL skills (or at least the ones I've met) and can query this easily. Most regional library systems have a centralized catalog. And the cost of moving books on demand is fixed: a van with one book and a van with fifty books costs the same to drive between branches.
Most colleges and universities have agreements with each other for exactly these systems and they're actively used. My partner considered completing his U Chicago PhD from San Francisco by way of the Stanford library.
You need to move those skills and agreements down to the smaller regional level.
There have been numerous cases where I checked out a book, and later went to refer to it again and it was not just no longer in the stacks, but not available in the system.
What books are you curious for that you're unable to find? I'm really curious about this as I, an avid horror book reader, have never had significant trouble even when buying very niche/indie work.
Texts on typography, history, and folklore for various research efforts.
It's not that I can't find them, it's that a couple were available locally, but aren't currently (due to being discarded) and the nearest copies are in the Library of Congress (which does not lend), requiring a drive. Mostly I've been buying them.
A last copy policy will ensure that when one wants to compare a first edition of _The Fellowship of the Ring_ against a second, one can get the full weight of Aragorn's snark:
>What did you fear that I should say? That I have here a rascal of a rebel dwarf that I would gladly exchange for a serviceable orc?'
Schools in poor towns don't have multiple levels or basements or even extra storage rooms. What you see is all you get.
If there is enough space to have a room full of books, it would be better used as a publicly accessible set of stacks. The only real reason to have a librarian-only room is for books that are rare and valuable.
You need a limiting principle or there is no limit to the "better funding" you're asking for until you have a Library of Congress in every small town in America, to no positive effect.
What's the limiting principle you propose? It has to be something real libraries and library funding sources can take action on, because they have to take real-world actions on them. So this is not a time for aspirational speeches or vague exhortations to "do more", which is the exact opposite of a limiting principle anyhow. What is "enough"?
The limiting principle should be that for a given ILL region/system, there is at least one copy of each book/edition which entered that system which can be loaned out.
As I noted, it's a pain for me to have to drive down to DC to get access to a book which _used_ to be in the local library system, but isn't anymore, or to purchase my own copy (which wasn't previously necessary).
This is a REALLY bold assumption you’re making here, and frankly until we’ve tried it I don’t think you can argue that it has no positive effect to put tons of books in every small town everywhere.
I used to work in a bookstore, and I've been working in libraries almost my entire career. Most books have no value. I've probably thrown out a million books in my life; most of them have been diet books, cook books, and political biographies.
My current library is around 2000 square feet and I acquire around 1000 books a year, so I have to toss around 1000 books a year, because they're made of matter and take up space.
It's a bit less of a thing than it used to be, but disposable books on technology were a thing for quite a while too. Think titles like "iPhone 6 for Dummies", "Learn Flash in 24 Hours", or "Windows 8 for Seniors" - there are a lot of books which were written (usually on the cheap) for a specific audience at a specific time, and which have no enduring value.
Also along these lines: test prep and study guide books. Same deal really.
Sure, there are always solutions, and many of them usually involve more money. But that money usually doesn't just magically appear, even with plenty of Carnegie-types these days looking to whitewash their reputations through philanthropy. The money often is the problem that needs to be solved, and there's just no source for those funds.
That is what big national central libraries are for. Hopefully government funded libraries actually properly archiving everything printed in the country.
This is a brilliant observation, in regards to the first edition's depiction of Gollum.
In the first edition, he was depicted as a large creature, and Tolkien was upset about it, and in the second edition, changed the description to small.
This information was gathered by a rare book seller who's videos I find immensely interesting.
A given library system should have a "last copy" policy, and should keep at least one copy of each book which has been added to their collection --- any which can't afford that need more funding.
>Libraries will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no libraries. --- Anne Herbert
When I was very young, my father retired to a rural county in Virginia where the county library was a carrel of used paperbacks in the basement library --- for each Scholastic book order, the teacher would remove a couple of books (as well as the promotional poster which my purchases made eligible), then hand me the box and the balance of its contents.
Like the furrow's length which I grew to feel in my bones by helping a neighbor plow his garden w/ a horse, I feel that quote in my soul.
>A home without books is a body without soul. (or words to that effect) --- Marcus Tullius Cicero/G.K. Chesterton
c.f.,
>No ornament of a house can compare with books; they are constant company in a room, even when you are not reading them. --- Harriet Beecher Stowe
He marks the transition between the world of _The Hobbit_ and that of the new world without magic which _The Lord of the Ring_ presages --- c.f., Lord Dunsany's _The Charwoman's Shadow_ which JRRT certainly had in the back of his mind as the manuscript grew from "Hobbit Sequel" (w/ a Hobbit named "Trotter" as the first iteration of the Ranger named "Strider" whose name in Eldar is not so ill, _Telcontar_).
Moreover, his removal dismisses and reduces the work of the unnamed smith who wrought the blade of Westernesse whose work came to fruition in its small part in the undoing of the Witch King of Angmar to a mere clattering of cutlery on a bed in a Bree.
A better way to handle it would've been a fade to black as the Hobbits pass into The Old Forest, and their then awaking on a hill w/ swords menacingly arrayed around them (across their neck would be a bit much w/o someone to actively remove them), some jewelry glittering on a nearby stump, their ponies neatly tied up nearby, and a song fading off into the distance as a man in bright blue jacket, leather pants, yellow boots, and a hat w/ a feather in it rode into the Old Forest.
Yes, but there are (in)famous examples such as the partition of Bengal (the tiger which Britain feared) being divided into Pakistan and India, which when included would provide a useful metric for the scale of human suffering involved.
There need to be more efforts at more books which take advantage of technology in interesting ways and which are freely distributable for the public good.
One of the longest days of my life was generating a press-ready PDF using a beta of a then-new program called "pdftex" which would validate for the "Thomson Techno Task Force"'s standard... tried _every_ possible combination of printer drivers, PDF applications, and settings to learn that Adobe Acrobat would _not_ work, but Adobe Acrobat Reader would, that the printer driver had to be Apple's LaserWriter 8.6 (not the Adobe driver or some other LW version), and that the .ps file had to be PS Level 2 (not 3), but that "Generate Level 3 Page Semantics" had to be checked on.... over a quarter of a century since and that memory is still seared in my otherwise uncertain organic memory.
Naturally, this is all interwoven w/ the early history of the Macintosh and LaserWriter --- a couple of relevant stories on folklore.org
- https://www.folklore.org/Origins_of_Spline-Based_and_Anti-Al...
- https://www.folklore.org/The_End_Of_An_Era.html
It's also notable that Display PostScript was largely developed by folks at NeXT such as Mike Paquette.
Anyone who is interested in PostScript should definitely get "The Green Book" by Glenn Reid (_PostScript Language Program Design_) as well as his wonderful _Thinking in PostScript_.
That said, my wife's aunt oversaw one of the largest Xerox Alto/Star networks in the U.S. Government, and when we would chat, her stories would all be about how well things worked and how easy it was to manage (aside from getting funding), while mine were all stories about fixing weird problems...
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