Vermont State University’s plan to trash the books in its libraries — and crush serendipity

Vermont State University’s plan to trash the books in its libraries — and crush serendipity

Vermont State University is a new institution formed from merging several underperforming state colleges in Vermont. It needs to save money. So its administration has proposed to get rid of eight librarians and most of its (physical) books. Contents of the books would still be available digitally. Popular trade books would shift to a community…

If books are so great, why is it so hard to give them away?
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If books are so great, why is it so hard to give them away?

Books are great individually. But in big bunches, they’re not as sacred as they once were. I’m in the process of moving and I have a lot of books. I’ve been collecting science fiction books since I was a teenager — I’ve accumulated hundreds of hardbacks and hundreds more in paperback, with special bookcases to…