The astronomy sections in libraries

[Paz]

I've got a rare day off work and had no idea what to do. I've ended up in a local library (that's how exciting I am!).

Obviously I searched for astronomy books and was surprised to find a whole couple of rows of astronomy books. This is just a small town library, I guess it shows the popularity of the subject. I was only expecting one or two books.

The other interesting observation is that it's mid week morning but this library is packed, and with people of all ages, literally every table is taken, most seats are taken.

[saac]

Most likely they are just staying warm - sign of the times maybe!

Jim 

 

ps that looks a good selection - did you borrow anything?

Edited March 1, 2023 by saac

[SteveWolves]

I run an Astronomy group at the library at Perton Staffordshire and the staff there are very supportive they have a couple of scopes of there own as well.

[Paz]

3 hours ago, saac said:

Most likely they are just staying warm - sign of the times maybe!

Jim 

 

ps that looks a good selection - did you borrow anything?

I think you are right about people keeping warm.

I didn't take any out, I just sat down with a few books(astro and non astro) for a couple of hours and had a read.

Ian Ridpath's Astronomy - A Visual Guide was a well organised and accessible guide to the sky and observing, but these days there is a lot of competition in that space. Lawrence Weschler's Waves Passing In the Night was more unusual, a different take from the norm on astronomy and physics and I would have borrowed that one if I had my library card, but I'm far too disorganised to think to take my library card to a library.

[Sunshine]

Funny you mention, when I visit my local bookstore which happens to be a very large chain with large stores in every major city, I always find myself frustrated at how small the science and nature section is.

Compared to the entire isle for sports, the science section gets a fifth of an isle, it's gross and it bothers me every time I go.

[Alan White]

3 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

Funny you mention, when I visit my local bookstore which happens to be a very large chain with large stores in every major city, I always find myself frustrated at how small the science and nature section is.

Compared to the entire isle for sports, the science section gets a fifth of an isle, it's gross and it bothers me every time I go.

I think that is a reflection of society as it is, I bet the section on celebrities was even larger than sports!

[Paz]

1 hour ago, SteveWolves said:

I run an Astronomy group at the library at Perton Staffordshire and the staff there are very supportive they have a couple of scopes of there own as well.

That is a great arrangement!

[Grogfish]

I remember in Stevenage central library I  once came across a telescope making book from the early 1980s. It included a wide range of very difficult builds including a 12” or so schiefspiegler… seemed a little.. niche! 

That said libraries aren’t just books, and they’re not just buildings these days.

In Herts you can use the Libby magazine app for free with Library membership, and among many many mags it includes Sky at Night magazine. So every month I can read it for free without leaving the sofa😄

Worth checking what your library service offers!

[Pompey Monkey]

Forty+ years ago, I would go to the Portsmouth central library and borrow/read as many books on astronomy as I could get my hands on!

Apart from the inspiration to build telescopes, I came across an Apple computer magazine with a rudimentary sky simulator program written in Apple basic. I converted this program into Sinclair Basic, which was not always trivial...

... but the real work was typing in the coordinates, magnitudes, and names, of as many of the stars from the library copy of the Flamsteed catalogue.

I do not recall if it was the lack of memory on My ZX Spectrum, the lack of will-power, or my own teenage smelly funk that made me give up at about 1/3 of the way through.

But the conversion did work!

 

[Zermelo]

A long time ago I read an account by someone - I think it was Isaac Asimov - who as a child had gained a sudden interest in astronomy.  He went to his local library and asked the librarian for "a book about the stars".  He was dismayed to be given a volume about Hollywood.

[Paul M]

As a boy I exhausted the town's main library and often asked to librarian to track down other books from further afield, which she was always happy to try to do, if not succeed. I certainly never had 2 shelves to go through, all those years ago when books was all there was and people read books!

As suggested by others I think having sheves full of niche books now is an indication of them sitting there gathering dust and and not being called for.

When we moved house about 20 years ago, I gave away pretty much my whole collection of of astronomy, meteorology and aviation books. I tried to give them to a local book shop, free to him and free to make whatever money he could. He wasn't interested! He didn't want them taking up space!

So I gave them all to the library. The librarian pointed to a space on the floor where I could leave them. I do wonder just how many of those books have been opened since...