Strange thing, gathering of tribes

[austin_dern]

I usually have a bunch of stuff out from the university library since, you know, monthlong lending periods and unlimited online renewals. And they let books slide for a week of overdue time before sending a nagging e-mail that they want their books back, so I usually go with that. I'd had one of those books in that period between official due date and send a nagging e-mail when I got a different kind of e-mail. It was recalled.

As a mere alumni borrower I can't order books recalled (or even from other branches) or even resist books I have out that were recalled. But I did discover this: while I could not renew the book --- which was overdue --- with the recall the due date was re-set to three weeks following the recall. I'm still trying to figure that one out. It doesn't feel like it adds up.

Trivia: Victory Day was made a holiday in the Soviet Union in 1965. Source: Why The Allies Won, Richard Overy.

Currently Reading: Kings Of The Bs: Working Within The Hollywood System, Editors Todd McCarthy, Charles Flynn. Mid-70s collection of essays and interviews about and with many of the names I know mostly as Mystery Science Theater 3000 riffs. (Who knew that Producers Release Corporation, of such timeless classics as High School Big Shot, would ultimately become a part of MGM?) But I don't know if it's a critic being perverse or that inability to really appreciate the previous generation's art which causes one early essay to declare as ``looking feeble'' All Quiet On The Western Front, The Best Years Of Our Lives (!) and High Noon, and predicting bad ageing for Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Strangelove, and west Side Story, although he's right that The Graduate didn't wear so well.

Comments

[mondhasen.livejournal.com]

I've never used the 'recall' feature at work, but think I'll run a test on one of my books to see what it does. I always assumed that it broke it out of the renews/holds cycle so that when the book came in it would be flagged automatically to return to the owning library and pop up a 'recalled item' note. It never occurred to me that it might actually send one of the 'gargoyles' to demand the item be returned ;o)

Back before the Consortium scolded staff for overriding renewal limits it was common enough to keep an item well past the maximum 6 weeks. I had one such item that I'd misplaced, and I renewed it several times, close to 6 months worth, before owning up to the fact it was never going to be found. Three months after paying, I found the book.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

I don't know that I've ever ordered a book recalled for myself; given my personality it seems like something I wouldn't do unless I absolutely had to have something for urgent research or class needs. I've only rarely had books recalled on me, which I suppose is a testament to the exotic nature of my tastes or just that since I patronize university libraries the odds are strongly with me.

My impression is I didn't used to rely so much on renewing books when I was a student, but that was also before they had web-based renewals. And since then I've had unlimited renewals through university libraries and two-renewals for the county library.

Books only reappear after they've been paid for. I don't think I've had to pay for replacing a library book since high school, mercifully, though.