Blog recommendation: Awful Library Books

Today's blog choice is Awful Library Books, which lists library holdings that are "amusing and maybe questionable for public libraries trying to maintain a current and relevant collection". Most of the books aren't actually awful, just dated...

Sarah recommended this blog to me, and one of the books that caught her eye is Clothes for Disabled People (published 1981):

1 comment:

Vincent said...

Thanks for this link. Our local library is so relevant and current that my heart sinks when I go there; for it lacks any depth and sense of the world apart from the narrow view of the librarians as to what is current and relevant.

In the main county archive lie hidden all the books I'm interested in. But I can order them on-line. Not only that but I can make suggestions as to new books they should buy. So far their purchasing committee has approved all my suggestions.

So I suppose I must not be down on them too much.

Don't you think it would be a good idea for every library to preserve selected samples of "awful library books" to show what was "current and relevant" thirty, forty or fifty years ago, in a special section? This would help take the shine off today's fads and give perspective on how they may seem to our grandchildren.