Book Contempt

This is the first of a series of guest posts on Book Patrol by Lynn Wienck of The Chisholm Trail Bookstore in Duncan, Oklahoma.

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Book Contempt

"Is the traditional book, with the bound, printed pages and covers, held in contempt?" I asked myself that very question based on recent and expanding book evolution in three regions: use, license, and library access.

I like books for themselves finding sufficient beauty in printed words, illustrations, and bindings. Atmosphere, mystery, and excitement are found among the simple black-and-white lines of text. Why then are books utilized to generate art, furniture, lamps, and clocks? The art is superb, creative, and fresh, but books are cut, drilled, and painted for a final product having nothing to do with reading skills. It seems a travesty, a mockery, of the original intent of the volume.

Transmogrified, shredded books become recycled paper, papercrete, mulch, and fireplace starter. In a sardonic, slightly satiric view, resulting book gruel as sustenance enables one to eat one’s own words. The book is completely destroyed in this process; it retains no semblance of tome appearance.

Proposed license and copyright laws may limit perusal and acquisition of books. What purpose does it serve to restrict the loan of a volume or forbid the use of a quote within the pages? Such limits confine the exchange of thoughts and prevent access to necessary information.

Public library functions reflect the change in attitude toward books. Increasingly, these facilities have become centers for family recreation night and knitting instruction courses. The focus has shifted from provision of reading sources to community service. Other libraries propose stack automation where books are isolated and a "robot" selects the desired volume. Browse, search, select, and read at random is no longer an option. The stacks are off-limits except to the machine; resulting free space is allocated for activities.

The traditional book, with tired pages and worn covers, is held in contempt: unvalued, unwanted, inaccessible, abused, and ultimately dismissed and discarded. By the actions of those who work with them, sell them, trade them, use them, and read them, it is so. Respect, please, for a great resource – that which we have lost or carelessly removed cannot be replaced nor recovered.