Thursday, April 26, 2007

Dumpster Dive

This was what I saw behind the library on my way home this evening - a dumpster filled with old books, magazines, journals and microfilms that were leftover from yesterday's free giveaways. And now they are all wet from the rain.

I understand most libraries have to clear out old book shelves to open up floor space for computer terminals and other electronic information systems. I mean, most information are now available electronically and they do not take up as much physical space as books and microfilms. Nonetheless, it is a shame to see them all thrown away like that.

I still remember my father's treasured encyclopedia set from when I was a kid. There were over 15 volumes and they took up a whole shelf in our family room. Any time we had a question, we would turn to the encyclopedia for answers. Now, I use wikipedia.com and Merrian-Webster.com instead of the paper versions. I even read my news on NYTimes.com and CNN.com.

So do you still read the old newspapers everyday?