Aloha,
On 11/14/2007 at 12:33 PM Thomas K. Johnson wrote:
>At one point in my researches, I was seeking out novels that were
>specifically from the late nineteenth century and that had occult themes.
>Specifically, I was looking for the author J. W. Brodie-Innes. When I
>asked the librarian here at UW why there was nothing in the cardcatalogue,
>she stated that *those* kinds of books wouldn't be something the library
>would be interested in acquiring.
[Let me put this info right at the beginning of my post--Some of
Brodie-Inness'
novels seem to be available as e-books on the internet. Google turns them
up.
Amazon turns up some high-priced used copies.]
I wonder what that librarian really meant by *those* kinds of books...?
Was it the *occult* character of the books? Or the *minor* literary status
of the
author and his novels?
I don't mean to sound flip here.
I believe that university libraries ought to provide a vast range of
resources
to support the studies and researches of its community of scholars.
Certainly
to provide a comprehensive representation of works of English literature,
its
history, and its critical appreciation.
That sort of broad sample would, if possible, include some, if not all, of
the
works of Brodie-Innes.
What first crossed my mind as I read this post is: What kind of a
Literature
complex does UW support? Could there be some a sort of unkind judgement
against late 19th/early 29th C. minor English novels?
The next was: In the course of cutting *useless* holdings, did the library
get rid of *these* kinds of books by minor authors?
The next was: How likely would it be for a librarian to know the novels of
a minor English novelist well enough to put them down for *that* occulty
quality? Bulwer-Lytton, sure. But Brodie-Innes?
Could the comment have been directed at the genre more, the occulty author
less? The comment, after all, smacks a bit of fannish disdain. (Or maybe
disdain
for the professor who inflicted such minor novels on an honors literature
class.
I cannot to this day stand to read the authors we had to vivisect under the
critical boot of my *honors* English professor...)
>Granted, there are limited budgets for book acquisition, and I understand
>this. But the disdain this librarian showed for either the topic or the
>author was, I thought, odd. Is this a common phenomenon in academic
>institutions, or is it more localized?
Honestly, I've never had anything like this happen to me at any library,
no matter what book I was looking for. The academic librarians that I've
met hold it a professional responsibility to do their best to provide the
resources their patrons desire to read. Even minor English novels.
But I also fear that the intolerance of all things even vaguely *occult*
may be spreading even to academic librarians.
Musing Dangerous Reading! Rose,
Pitch
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