雄仔的故事

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Book and respect
I always think that library is a very holy place(even i never go there often) where all sorf of knowledge are kept, and information(clean) available. What do i mean by clean information? Just compare the internet "information" and books and u will notice the different... If u can't spot the different? well... hmmm... haha.... i also cannot do anything...

Just came across one of my lecturer blog and i am truely touch by what he had wrote about his respect toward books... Below is his "speech"(in brown color)... LOL... enjoy~~~

There are a few things I particularly hate that people do to books.

1. When they want to pause, instead of using a bookmark of some kind, they spread the book and leave it face down the floor. This is especially bad with paperbacks. You immediately introduce that fold line on the spine.

2. Writing in the books. Unless it is your own book, please refrain from doing that. Your handwritting probably looks bad and you are forcing others to see it.

3. Folding the corners just to keep it bookmarked. This is one that I truly truly detest. When I see books with this done to them in the library, I will unfold them, even though I'm not borrowing the books.

4. Stepping on the books.

A book, no matter whether it is well written or not, represents the distillation of the writer's knowledge or imagination. Those people who are required to submit a final year project report or a thesis will know how much sweat and tears have to be expended in producing that book. Even if they never read the thesis again, they will still be very proud of their own product. And those who have never done their own reports will never have the privilege of feeling this way. The probably go through their lives not knowing what feeling proud means.

A library is a place where all books are. When you step into a library, you get brought into a world where the collective knowledge is something you will never be able to comprehend in your whole life. Can you imagine the magnitude of it? So if you have to treat a book with respect, imagine the library.

Alas, this is not the case. I have a friend who is teaching in another polytechnic and he told me that he hates to go into their library because the students are always so noisy. And this is the same in our library. I wonder why it never occurs to our library users that a when you go into a library you keep quiet. If you need to talk, you whisper and whisper is not the same as talking in a low voice incidentally.

I was in our library doing some things on a Saturday and it was quite quiet at first. Then a couple came in. The guy remained quite quiet but the lady wouldn't stop talking. I hope he marries her. Then two girls came in, and well, they still thought they were in the canteen.An ex-student who is now studying in NUS once told me that the NUS library is so quiet. And my reply was, well, that's a place where civilised people go to. The implication is clear. One would feel insulted if I say that he is uncivilised wouldn't he? But can wer come to a different conclusion if his behaviour in our library clearly shows that?

Try this, find a day and go into our library alone. The word is ALONE, then you won't have the pressure of having to conform to the behaviour of your friends. Walk to the different shelves and see what books you can find. Take any book with a title that sounds interesting enough. Read the Preface and see what the author says about why he wrote that book. And then ask yourself how much you know about what was written in the book. Then you will realise how little you know and how much more knowledgeable the library is compared to you. And then, maybe you will accord it with some respect.

I am totally agree with him, didn't you? I had to admit that was a well written one.