Library Alchemy

There’s a reason why I took all those theater and public speaking classes, you know:  I am much more comfortable as a writer than I am as a speaker, and I prefer having some time to reflect on my thoughts and feelings before I try to articulate them.  In fact, I usually need three or four days to assemble a cogent, informed response.  Of course, by then, somebody else who is swifter of speech has beaten me to the punch line, often with credible sources and footnotes, to boot.

I’d been pondering a few things over the weekend, wondering how I wanted to respond, coming up short.  And then today a colleague sent me the news about The Huffington Post’s new book feature, The Watering Hole.  Here’s the money quote:

People who think books are dying don’t understand the power of ideas to inspire. And people who think books will die at the hands of the Internet don’t understand the power of what happens when an engaged reader–of both web and print content–discovers new ideas, new thoughts, new thinkers, or remembers the impact of a classic. Word spreads faster than ever, and the ensuing debate helps refine ideas for the future.

See also:

Nothing can replace the experience of settling into a comfortable chair, perfect reading lamp hovering above, favorite beverage on the end table (and for me, a little piece of high octane chocolate), opening a book on your lap, and entering into a long, deep conversation of minds: the one that takes place between yours and the author’s.

Thank you, Amy Hirtz, for saying so eloquently what I’ve been sputtering about all weekend: if we’re going to have a discourse about “the user experience,” then that should mean ALL users’ experiences, including those of us who are fond of reading in a traditional fashion.

This includes all 1,140 people who are currently waiting to read one of our print copies of The Lost Symbol. This is no disrespect to the 248 people waiting for the unabridged audiobook, the 56 people waiting for the abridged audiobook, or the 40 people waiting for the OverDrive download. It simply means that there are more people in my library’s service population who love print. And that should be okay.

I am, as ever, highly biased. I waited an entire month for my copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. It was like waiting for Christmas morning as a child, and it felt really good to have something pleasant to look forward to, especially on challenging days. When I got my copy, I stayed up all night reading it in one sitting, with burning eyes and an aching pancreas from laughing so hard. And only then did I log into my social networks and share the zombie goodness.

If that’s the kind of user experience you’re all about, holla back, as the kids say.

I have a feeling this blog is, of necessity, going to take a turn in a different direction very soon, though I cannot at the moment conceive of exactly how, or exactly when. Stay tuned, gentle readers.