Random Dewey

Photo blog companion to the Random Dewey blog.

[hydrotoxicity]

[randomdewey]

Books piled on the floor in a bookstore. More books and boxes in the background.

[thepursuitaesthetic-deactivated]

[randomdewey]

Subway car?

[emilialua1]

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Watches and Compasses glass art. Photo by Garry Gay.

[booksandothergeekery]

[randomdewey]

Pictorial Covers. Used bookstore?

[randomdewey]

Gould's Book Arcade

[awesomepeoplereading]

Keith Richards reads.

[0001012-blog]

[randomdewey]

Work or storage area in a converted loft apartment: bookshelves, drum kits, bicycle parts.

[oldsyndication]

Mission Impossible (1966-1973) - The System

[misswallflower]

[randomdewey]

Library, Estancia San Miguel de Cárcano, province of Córdoba, Argentina. More photos of the house at A Lovely Being.

[celebritieswithbooks-blog]

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George Clooney, poolside, with wine glass and book (The Assault of Reason, by Al Gore).

[kellyconcepts-blog]

[randomdewey]

Want, if I had the space for it. Room leading to French doors, with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves along two sides and more bookshelves over the entrance to the next room.

[booksandothergeekery]

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Used bookstore? Books piled up everywhere, even along the stairs and over the doorway.

[yesmynameisrhiannon]

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Curtained bedroom area beneath a small loft and elevated bookcase. The space looks bigger thanks to a large mirror that reflects what looks like glass doors and trees.

[lolitahearts-deactivated2012031]

[randomdewey]

Henderson Books used bookstore, Bellingham, Wash.

[lovely--little--things]

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Antiques store? Genteel used stuff store? Old books and assorted old stuff (Mason jars, shoe stretchers, maybe a tea kettle).

[lexlibri-blog]

From the New York Times archives, a story about a law librarian who disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1907. His body was found a short while later; it’s unclear whether he took his own life or was murdered.

Percy Digby’s story is interesting: not just because he carried the details of 20,000 volumes in his head, and not just because it’s a real-life whodunit.

In my cataloguing class, we’re learning about Cutter’s Objectives. In 1904, Cutter’s ideas about catalogues—democratizing the library to allow patrons to find and select books by themselves—were nothing short of revolutionary. 

In refusing to create a catalogue, it sounds like Digby was trying to hold onto not only his job, but his entire worldview about how libraries were “supposed” to work.

[randomdewey]

Jenny Calendar: Honestly, what is it about them that bothers you so much?

Rupert Giles: The smell.

Jenny Calendar: Computers don't smell, Rupert.

Rupert Giles: I know. Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower, or a-a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell musty and-and-and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer is a - it, uh, it has no-no texture, no-no context. It's-it's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, then-then the getting of knowledge should be, uh, tangible, it should be, um, smelly.