The definition of a library at it’s most basic level is: 1) a collection of literary and artistic materials, such as books, periodicals, manuscripts, prints, audio and video recordings, and artifacts for reading, viewing, listening, study, or reference. 2) a place set aside for such a collection.
The measure of a library ultimately seems to come down to the number volumes and/or artifacts held in their collection. That’s not to say that large libraries are inherently better than small libraries, but here’s a look at some famous libraries and their collections:
The Library of Congress
30 million books
134.5 million total items
Bibliothèque Nationale de France
13 million books and publications
Vatican Library
1.1 million books
75,000 manuscripts
Burton Barr Central Library of Phoenix
over 1 million volumes
Lillian Goldman Law Library at Yale University
800,000 volumes
Ronald Regan Presidential Library
10,000 books
56,000 video and audio recordings
1.5 million photographs
I don’t expect to, nor do I desire to, build a collection as large as the smallest listed here, perhaps for no other reason than I can imagine the horror of having to pack and unpack 10,000 books each time I move, and I still seem to move frequently. But how many volumes should I have? I’m not certain identifying an existing collection as a benchmark is the right answer.
Temporarily putting the ‘how many volumes’ question aside, there is also the ‘do I catalogue my collection’ question. If I’m going to answer the first question with a definitive quantity, then the second answer is ‘yes’. But how?
While navigating the intertubes for @PhxArtYC I came across a draft presentation on Web 2.0 by Museum 2.0 blogger Nina Simon referencing LibraryThing, a social network built around cataloguing the books that you own. Perfect? I thought so, and I Twittered so, only to be referred to listal, another social networking site that allows you to catalogue books as well as music, movies, and video games. Cool too, right? The need for easy cataloguing system now met, the question of which tool to use calls into question what exactly I want to catalogue. Books only? Or do it all: music, movies, and games? I only have 3 PS2 games, but if I’m going include any games, I’m going to want to include all games, even old-school style board games. Please tell me you’ve heard of Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit. Of Clue and Risk (never actually played this but I do own it).
K.I.S.S. – Keep it simple stupid. This here be about the books.
And because every good goal has constraints… I want a measure that is not completely arbitrary, but rather one built around my own reading habits (or goals). How many books do I think I can read in a year? Perhaps a better question, how many do I think I will read in a year? How many would I like to read in a year? Shoud I plus some percentage to account for books I want to own or am gifted but will probably never read. 10%? 25%?
A reasonable measure might be 15 books a year (assumes reading one book per month, plus 25% for convenient math) times 78 (average life expectancy for a white female born in 1977 is 77.9 years). 1,170 books by August 29, 2055.
