The End of the Collector Mindset

[ChiTownScion]

Up here the libraries are still open six days a week, and all the schools have real hardcover book libraries on premises. Apparently civilization keeps better up here in the cold.

Our local library has two sites and a bookmobile. Sunday hours are only 1-5 PM, but apparently, that's enough. Annual budget is around $7.8 million.... but you'll never hear me gripe about taxes, at least when it comes to schools and the library. It's money well spent. One of the nice things that they have is a cooperative lending program with other communities: you can obtain just about any title you want.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

The first completely digital library opened in San Antonio a couple of years ago.
http://nation.time.com/2013/09/13/a-bookless-library-opens-in-san-antonio/

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Our local library has two sites and a bookmobile. Sunday hours are only 1-5 PM, but apparently, that's enough. Annual budget is around $7.8 million.... but you'll never hear me gripe about taxes, at least when it comes to schools and the library. It's money well spent. One of the nice things that they have is a cooperative lending program with other communities: you can obtain just about any title you want.

Many of the branches of our county library system are open on Saturday and one is open on Sundays. A few years ago when I was in between computers I was going there to get online on Sunday.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Our local library has two sites and a bookmobile. Sunday hours are only 1-5 PM, but apparently, that's enough. Annual budget is around $7.8 million.... but you'll never hear me gripe about taxes, at least when it comes to schools and the library. It's money well spent. One of the nice things that they have is a cooperative lending program with other communities: you can obtain just about any title you want.

Yep, we have that here. A few weeks back, my librarian friend and I were talking about an extremely obscure book, published in a limited edition in 1927. She got on the interlibrary loan and had a copy of that actual edition in her hands in less than a week.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

I still remember the librarian from my elementary school when I was in fifth grade, directing me to the books relevant to dog training, as I had just gotten my first dog. I still remember her kindness, knowledge and intelligence as she helped me with the books. Lessons I remember both in training dogs and appreciating people with knowledge of books

Some of the books I used to repeatedly check out of the library when I was a kid. I now have all but one.

I'm still looking for this one
Edit: I just saw one on Amazon and it's $185!!!! :eeek:

Elementary School

Junior High School

 

[sheeplady]

Libraries are so much more than books, though. Books, knowledge, and information are an important part (and should be a central tenet of any library) but that is far from what libraries "simply" do.

The kinds of things that libraries do include:
1. Providing resources, such as computers and books that are not available to the person from other resources.
2. Classes and informal help on using technology, applying for jobs, etc.
3. Study and quiet space for both children and adults.
4. A safe space for children and adults that has friendly people (and resources to escape abuse, poverty, etc.).
5. A knowledge bank of and referral to social services for adults and children.
6. A warm dry place with an available bathroom that has hot water (which is frequently used by individuals who don't have access to water/ warm locations, such as the homeless).
7. Early education/ reading programs for young children, for free.
8. Literacy programs for adults, including ESL programs.
9. A meeting space for organizations and groups.
10. A community space where people can go to socialize and connect.

That's not even a near-complete list.

I think it is near-sighted to see a librarian's only qualifications should be a "book lover." They should be a people and community lover first and foremost.

When a young person approaches a librarian for information on shelters because they are a victim of domestic violence, a good librarian gives them information. A *great* librarian not only passes on the information but warns the person that violence will often escalate when the person tries to leave the abusive relationship, so information about domestic violence shelters should not be left around the home. The good librarian passes on information, the great librarian saves a person's life.

 

[Nobert]

Some of the books I used to repeatedly check out of the library when I was a kid. I now have all but one.

I'm still looking for this one
Edit: I just saw one on Amazon and it's $185!!!! :eeek:

Is that the Raymond Briggs? I never even heard of that one.

The public library in Portland has an art gallery (as city ordinance requires of all public spaces), and last year held an exhibit of pulp magazine covers. It was the best art show I'd been to for some time.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I think it is near-sighted to see a librarian's only qualifications should be a "book lover." They should be a people and community lover first and foremost.

Yup. An isolationist would never cut it as a librarian, especially in a small town. Our libraries here are -- and have always been -- as much community centers as they are buildings full of books, and they remain a central focal point of just about every community group or activity you can name. Try that with a Kindle.

 

[Babydoll]

7. Early education/ reading programs for young children, for free.

Yes! I've been taking Lily to our local library for two years to attend the weekly story time for preschoolers. I credit the fantastic librarian in part with Lily's love of books. She also helped Lily get a library card almost two years ago, and Lily averages checking out 8-10 books a week, which we read nightly - 15-20 minutes. When I needed direction of what books would help Lily transition from me reading to her to her reading on her own (after she knew her letters/sounds), the librarian was able to direct me to an entire section of books (hundreds of them) that are for new readers. Once we had those in hand, it was just a few days for Lily to be sounding out words, reading words, and now she's spelling words independently by sounding them out. This all in the past month, and because Lily has support from a librarian that loves her, and is investing in her future. (Hubby and I play a part, but the librarian is a huge resource for us.) I'm sad that we only have a few weeks left of story time. They don't have it during the summer, and Lily starts Kindergarten in the fall.

Miss Jennifer (our favorite librarian) and Lily getting her certificate of achievement when she received her library card.

 

[Babydoll]

Our local library has two sites and a bookmobile. Sunday hours are only 1-5 PM, but apparently, that's enough. Annual budget is around $7.8 million.... but you'll never hear me gripe about taxes, at least when it comes to schools and the library. It's money well spent. One of the nice things that they have is a cooperative lending program with other communities: you can obtain just about any title you want.

I guess we're very fortunate around here. Our library is part of a county-wide system of 50 libraries. I can borrow a book from any of them that I want. They transfer it for free, place it on hold in my local library, and notify me when it is ready to be picked up. I take it for granted that all libraries are like that. I guess I shouldn't.

Our neighborhood library recently closed for a complete renovation (10-12 month closure), so instead of driving 3 minutes to the library, I have to drive 6 minutes to the downtown library. It's okay, though. More parking, more titles on the shelves, and more librarians to help.

 

[sheeplady]

Yes! I've been taking Lily to our local library for two years to attend the weekly story time for preschoolers. I credit the fantastic librarian in part with Lily's love of books. She also helped Lily get a library card almost two years ago, and Lily averages checking out 8-10 books a week, which we read nightly - 15-20 minutes. When I needed direction of what books would help Lily transition from me reading to her to her reading on her own (after she knew her letters/sounds), the librarian was able to direct me to an entire section of books (hundreds of them) that are for new readers. Once we had those in hand, it was just a few days for Lily to be sounding out words, reading words, and now she's spelling words independently by sounding them out. This all in the past month, and because Lily has support from a librarian that loves her, and is investing in her future. (Hubby and I play a part, but the librarian is a huge resource for us.) I'm sad that we only have a few weeks left of story time. They don't have it during the summer, and Lily starts Kindergarten in the fall.

Miss Jennifer (our favorite librarian) and Lily getting her certificate of achievement when she received her library card.

Aww, that picture is so sweet.

I took our daughter to a Baby Story Time (ages 0 to 2). Sadly, in my metropolitan area (which very much needs library services) there was no baby story time available in any of their 10 libraries, and only 2 preschooler story times for an entire county of close to half a million.

I had to drive an hour south to a little town in a more "wealthy" county to find a baby story time, which despite being much smaller than my county, has two baby story times available in the county (that I know of) and every library seems to have a pre-school one.

Librarians are great for teaching not only reading, but songs, games, and low-cost crafts that are age-appropriate. I don't think people understand what benefit they give society, and it is a damned shame when a library is closed, services reduced, or hours cut.

 

[Babydoll]

Aww, that picture is so sweet.

I took our daughter to a Baby Story Time (ages 0 to 2). Sadly, in my metropolitan area (which very much needs library services) there was no baby story time available in any of their 10 libraries, and only 2 preschooler story times for an entire county of close to half a million.

I had to drive an hour south to a little town in a more "wealthy" county to find a baby story time, which despite being much smaller than my county, has two baby story times available in the county (that I know of) and every library seems to have a pre-school one.

Librarians are great for teaching not only reading, but songs, games, and low-cost crafts that are age-appropriate. I don't think people understand what benefit they give society, and it is a damned shame when a library is closed, services reduced, or hours cut.

And this is another instance when I didn't realize how spoiled I am with our library system. Almost all of the 50 libraries in our county have a baby and a preschool story time.

Typical story time includes 4-5 books, 3-4 songs to sing/dance to, hand rhymes (itsy-bitsy spider, and the like), talking about words that begin with the letter of the week (go in alphabet order), drawing letter of the week in the air (upper and lower case), making the letter sounds, felt board activities (usually counting forward/backward involved), and some sort of review of what was discussed.

At this point (because we've switched libraries) we're attending twice a week - once with the librarian that normally works at the library (central, downtown location - about 4 miles from home), and the librarian from our neighborhood library (about 1.5 miles from home) that has been reassigned to the downtown library during the renovation process of our library. Lily likes the new librarian (Miss Patty), but she LOVES our local librarian (Miss Jennifer), so I indulge her and let her absorb as much as she can at the library.

I don't know how they can control the chaos at story time, but they do. One of the days regularly has 40+ kids, and the other has 25+ kids. To keep their attention for 45 minutes and not have meltdowns... they are miracle workers.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Going back to the original theme of this thread, There was a similar discussion on another forum that I had stumbled across and there was a post by a 25-year-old which shed some light on this phenomenon. And that is that many Millenials were collectors when they were growing up, collecting comic books and sports cards, no doubt in some way spurred on by stories of the early collectors whose rare comic books and cards fetched huge amounts. However, when it came time to cash in for college or their first car many discovered that the collectibles they had saved up their allowance and babysitting money for wasn't worth anything near what they thought it would be. And thus, having been burned by their first experiences collecting, many have shied away from it.

 

[tonyb]

Millennials Don't Want Your Stuff.

The "real" antiques market, the stuff older then anybody still living, has been in the doldrums for at least a decade. "Brown furniture" is the trade shorthand for it, and in general it isn't fetching the prices it was 15 or 20 years ago.

But vintage stuff is hot and from where I sit it shows little sign of cooling off. There's a proliferation of TV shows and publications devoted to it, the "antique" malls are chock full of it, and I see a whole lot of "retro" versions of furniture and household appliances and the like in retail stores ranging from Target to West Elm.

I've read a couple of accounts of late suggesting that Millennials are more avid fans of the Midcentury Modern look than are their parents and grandparents. I take those accounts with a grain of salt, just as I do the piece cited in your original post. Yes, there are data -- prices paid for stuff in various categories, for instance -- but in largest part such stories are mostly anecdotal.

A few months back my mom sent me an oval sepia tone photo of her dad's uncle Charlie in his doughboy uniform. He was a fairly prominent character in my mom's early life. I believe he was still drawing breath when I came along, although I have no recollection of him. But he mattered to Mom, and to my grandfather, so his photo matters to me.

 

[tonyb]

Going back to the original theme of this thread, There was a similar discussion on another forum that I had stumbled across and there was a post by a 25-year-old which shed some light on this phenomenon. And that is that many Millenials were collectors when they were growing up, collecting comic books and sports cards, no doubt in some way spurred on by stories of the early collectors whose rare comic books and cards fetched huge amounts. However, when it came time to cash in for college or their first car many discovered that the collectibles they had saved up their allowance and babysitting money for wasn't worth anything near what they thought it would be. And thus, having been burned by their first experiences collecting, many have shied away from it.

If there's such a thing as items of purely speculative value, it's sports cards. And Beanie Babies.

I chatted with an antiques mall operator acquaintance yesterday. A fair percentage of the floor space there holds his own merchandise, including a large collection of old commercial signage he has acquired lately and which he has marked at prices I wouldn't seriously consider paying myself.

"It's a good time to be selling old signs," I said.

"Sure is," he replied, to which I said, "I doubt it'll be so hot five years from now."

"It'll cool off when 'American Pickers' goes off the air," he said.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

I love how on American Pickers they often walk by real antiques with value to grab that Pennzoil sign.

 

[tonyb]

I love how on American Pickers they often walk by real antiques with value to grab that Pennzoil sign.

I'm mildly surprised that show has lasted as long as it has. I believe I recently saw some reference to them going overseas in search of stuff to "pick."

It's almost pure fiction at this point. I recall participating in a conversation about "American Pickers" over a well-stocked picnic table several summers ago. It, like all "reality" TV programming, is in no way an accurate reflection of reality, for if it were it would be a program without an audience. Even then, it was apparent that Mike Wolfe was actually in the TV show business, and that the antique store was just the pretext.

At this point, any adult of minimal intellectual competency would have to be tremendously naive to believe that these fellows just happen upon interesting collections of old stuff as they're driving through the countryside, or that they themselves actually drive that van from one end of the country to the other, or that that sexy Danielle girl actually hunts down those leads.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Shows like that fill me with blind rage. That OMG ITS WORTH MONEY $$$$!!!$!$! mindset is responsible for so much perfectly useful stuff being thrown away specifically because it *isn't* OMG WORTH MONEY $$$!!$!$. Beofre I die I think I'll set fire to everything I own just to spite these parasites.

 

[tonyb]

Shows like that fill me with blind rage. That OMG ITS WORTH MONEY $$$$!!!$!$! mindset is responsible for so much perfectly useful stuff being thrown away specifically because it *isn't* OMG WORTH MONEY $$$!!$!$. Beofre I die I think I'll set fire to everything I own just to spite these parasites.

I don't begrudge a person for turning a profit on old crap. I've befriended a few people in the old-junk biz over the years. Much as I like that old stuff, I don't envy them their occupation. No person with eyes would see any resemblance between these peoples' work lives and what is seen on "American Pickers."

As to values ...

Very little of the stuff seen on that TV show has much by way of intrinsic value. Even an old car, say, or motorcycle they "pick" will rarely if ever see actual use as a motor vehicle.

What the stuff has is speculative value, or decorative value, and those values are fickle. Right now commercial signage is hot, thanks in no small part to "American Pickers." But really, what makes an old gas station sign worth thousands of dollars? Because someone will pay that much for it, of course. But it's still just an old sign. You can't eat it, or live in it, or drive it, or smoke it.

As an aside, it's fine by me that "condition is everything" in the world of old signs and commercial art. A poster or a sign showing that it was actually used for its intended purpose is, to my way of seeing things, more genuine than an example that never left its original packaging. That it can be had for a small fraction of the pristine item is all to the better, of course.

 

[TimeWarpWife]

What drives me crazy about American Pickers is that the majority of their clientele need to be on Hoarders.