medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Quoting John Briggs <[log in to unmask]>:
>> British universities have embraced Reaganomics, and regard the public as
> milch cows to whom services should be sold - but only on the universities'
> conditions, of course. As it happens, I have a driver's licence which would
> allow me to run a university library, but as a reader they certainly don't
> regard me as entitled to any services.
>
> As for the British Library, I was once (wrongly) turned away by a
> jobsworth - and I suspect I only now have a reader's ticket because I have
> an actual entitlement to one. I don't know if anything has changed, but
> they have always actively discouraged readers.
>
> The crumbling public library system does its best, but it is really unable
> to cope with anyone with interests at a research level.
>
> John Briggs
>
This reminds me of a story told by a friend about his visit to his alma mater,
Oxford. All his old friends were complaining about requests for books coming
back marked "NOS" meaning "not on shelf," which was regarded as a final action.
They all asked him to complain about it because he was an American and "they
would listen to him." The implication being that Oxford would not want to hear
that university libraries in America were better.
Maybe there is still enough Anglo-American academic rivalry that this tactic
would be helpful?
V. K. Inman
By the way do you guys have 4th of July?
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