/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.17309366]

Has anyone on /lit/ ever visited the Library of Congress in Washington DC?
I just learned that they catalog every piece of literature they can get their hands on, including works of fiction.
They have over 170 million individual items in the collection (obviously a lot of those are digitized at this point).
It sounds amazing, and any member of the public over the age of 16 can go use it

[Anonymous No.17309389]

>>17309366
I want to go there some day, it looks kino.
The selection of books they have is massive, the atmosphere looks amazing, and they have some very old books too which I'm also interested.

[Anonymous No.17309398]

>>17309389
Just to clarify, I'm not OP.

[Anonymous No.17309448]

>>17309389
I think it might be one of the most under-appreciated historic buildings in the US.
And built in 1800 makes it older than a lot of government buildings in Europe

[Anonymous No.17309482]

>>17309366
>Library of Congress in Washington DC
what post apocalypse civilizations will think of when pondering the USA next to the Pentagon, Smithsonian and the whitehouse, but these are less surprising

[Anonymous No.17309661]

>>17309389
>>17309448
I can confirm that such library-buildings will never ever be built again. Current doctrine within the library field is that great monumental architecture is "intimidating" and represents "white supremacy/colonialism", which makes immigrants feel uncomfortable. I'm not even making this up.

[Anonymous No.17309923]

>>17309661
Really? Shit, that's sad but unfortunately pretty believable. I'm sure you're exaggerating with "never ever be built again" but there is probably a movement, as you described, within architectural circles and architectural education to subvert western aesthetics as a form of "decolonizing" or "fighting against white supremacy". Look up the Smithsonian's whiteness chart to see what these people think of colored people.
>library field
Are you a librarian? An architect? Again I don't doubt you, just need context.

[Anonymous No.17309938]

>>17309661
Fug
Why does it have to be like this?
I see a building like this as a monument to the creative abilities of mankind as a whole

[Anonymous No.17309950]

>>17309366
Do they have call of the crocodile?

[Anonymous No.17309996]

>>17309950
>Quest Added
This is unironically a national duty for us /lit/izens of burgerland.

[Anonymous No.17310020]

>>17309366
>It sounds amazing, and any member of the public over the age of 16 can go use it
You have to jump through a minor bureaucratic hoop by basically scheduling your visit and having a clear scholarly intention before just waltzing around. The public facing LoC isn't even a library. The actual reading room is not a tourist attraction and not accessible without clearance beforehand.

t. poorly informed, disappointed National Mall tourist. At least the Galleries are always open.

[Anonymous No.17310069]

>>17310020
Kek, I would have probably just waltzed in there too anon. Thanks for the info though, I plan to use it some day.

[Anonymous No.17310117]

>>17309923
>Are you a librarian?
Yes, and libraries are increasingly geared towards being meeting places and tools for integration of immigrants, rather than places of study/learning. This is a big part of the curriculum, and parts of it specifically talks about the library architecture of the future and how to build diverse and inclusive spaces. Academic libraries currently remain the most sane.

[Anonymous No.17310163]

>>17310117
An acquaintance of mine works IT at a big city library. He once explained to me that the 50 year old black homeless guy watching hardcore porn on the computers nearest the children’s section is actually the library working as intended. “All information should be freely available to anyone at any time. So yes, the computers cannot block hardcore pornography.” Is that about where the field stands these days?

[Anonymous No.17310330]

>>17310117
>>17310163
Jeez, and I thought that the worst thing to happen to libraries was when a large chunk of them re-branded themselves to "information centers" to distance themselves from books. I wasn't aware of this shit, sad.

[Anonymous No.17310432]

>>17310163
Public libraries in big cities are the most degenerate. There aren't many homeless people where I live, and I've never seen them at any of the libraries I frequent or have worked at (seems to be mostly a US problem, I'm from northern europe), but I've heard that it has become a problem that people use the bathrooms to inject drugs in certain parts of the city. To me the biggest issue is the ideology they are pushing. I was at the main public library for a seminar on future development of the city libraries, and one of the "lecturers" actually started chanting antifa slogans in all seriousness. That was pretty shocking.

A real issue with the public computers is that lots of old geriatrics and immigrants who don't understand the internet/own a computer/speak the language come to the library to log into their banking services, and they'll give you all their sensitive personal data and banking information so you can log them in. There was a pretty big case recently where two somali boys installed a keylogger on such a computer, monitored the accounts and collected information, and managed to gain control of several bank accounts.

Not trying to discredit public libraries, they do a lot of good work, but I never want to work in one again if I can help it.

>>17310330
Rebranding isn't all bad. People read less every year, it is a constantly declining trend, if you can get people who don't read into the library, some of them might at some point decide to pick up a book while they are there. That is the reasoning behind this shift. How can you legitimize taxpayer spending on public libraries (an expensive and unprofitable institution) if you have a dwindling userbase?
Academic libraries don't have to deal with this issue of identity, since their reason for existing is tied directly to subject matter/facilitating education.

[Anonymous No.17310514]

>>17310432
>People read less every year, it is a constantly declining trend
I’m curious, does this count all reading or just physical book reading? Whenever I move, I sign up for the library but almost never physically check out books. It’s just way easier to read books digitally and I can control my light exposure before bed so it’s way more convenient.

[Anonymous No.17310526]

>>17310117
Wouldn't it be beneficial for all of society if the main purpose is for cultural integration for immigrants?

[Anonymous No.17310599]

>>17310514
The libraries count books borrowed in total, average books borrowed per borrower, and what percentage of library-users borrow books. Nationally they also collect information about how many books are purchased in stores/online in total, on average etc.. which is collated with national questionnaires about reading habits. During Corona the book industry actually experienced a small boom.

Digression: I can also confirm that e-book publishers are cancer, and that to "borrow" ONE USE of an e-book from a neighbouring library costs 5-10x more than BUYING a brand new physical copy.

>>17310526
Yes, it is good if it can contribute to integration and inter-ethnic trust. But I want to work with books and grown adults with whom you can have a conversation, or actually help them in a meaningful manner. I don't want to be a wetnurse for immigrant children or an IT help for old people. And they are becoming increasingly politicized (left/right divide).

[Anonymous No.17310731]

>>17310599
That’s true, it’s exhaustive that politics is seeping into almost everything. Truthfully, outside of academia, is there really a sizable population of adults that pursue scholarly knowledge?

[Anonymous No.17310808]

>>17310117
Spics truly have driven America into the ground. I hate immigration so goddamn much

[Anonymous No.17310887]

>>17309389
>all that wasted space
they could store so many more books in that area

[Anonymous No.17310919]

>>17310808
Get a grip, tardfarm. Just because the toolbags in charge think changing the architecture will appeal to spics doesn't mean it is the spics' fault.

[Anonymous No.17311029]

>>17310808
What this >>17310919 anon says
It’s always the jews

[Anonymous No.17311575]

>>17310731
You're a colossal faggot. That ivory tower attitude anti-political is responsible for abominations like drag queen story hour which repulses the "sizable population of adults that pursue scholarly knowledge." If you don't take a stand soon for what is right and good they will come for your institutions next and no one will object when your faggy libraries are defunded and closed down.

[Anonymous No.17312334]

>>17311575
What ivory tower behavior was in that post? If anything, isn’t your hated drag queen reading time an example of politicalization of libraries? Please think things through before going on unnecessary diatribes online.

[Anonymous No.17312384]

>>17309661
Sick as this cult is, I do enjoy the inherent back-handed compliment to European culture as being so utterly beyond their grasp that it must be eliminated and turned into something else.

[Anonymous No.17312400]

>>17312334
>What ivory tower behavior was in that post?
The search for an educated/scholarly circle that is not infested by politics to retreat to, rather than fighting or trying to defend what used to be non-political arenas. I am not the anon you replied to, so this is only an educated guess.

[Anonymous No.17312681]

>>17309661
>which makes immigrants feel uncomfortable.

great, fuck them

[Anonymous No.17312690]

>>17309950
https://youtu.be/QT13kk8HDDo

[Anonymous No.17312697]

>>17312400
But where in the post did I imply that? There is a misunderstanding here: I simply stated that politicization of everything was draining, nothing more.

[Anonymous No.17313653]

>>17309448
absolutely based Minerva fresco lads

[Anonymous No.17313760]

>>17309366
it's pretty fuckin awesome