In her view this emphasis neglects and diminishes interaction with real live people, and with the programs that increase live interaction.
"When I went to library school at the University of Michigan (now called the School of Information), we were taught the importance of building quality, balanced collections. These days the emphasis is on circulation statistics, and we all know that a popular DVD will circulate more than, say, Thackeray's Vanity Fair, or even the newest Pulitzer fiction winner. I still believe that it's important to have books available for all types of readers, for those who want light fiction, or histories, or literary novels."
When she started it was about building a quality collection. Today she thinks it's more about give-'em-what-they-want-ism. Taking the time to make decisions on reading or decisions about if a book is worthy of being in the collection, that sort of thing doesn't happen anymore. In her view reading is critical and any book can fulfill a need. But not all reading is reading for pleasure, enjoyment or light reading. However, other reading, deeper more demanding reading, has not been given the same weight.
"I am feeling increasingly as though my generation, who got our degrees in the late 1960s, (we) are dinosaurs in the profession. Our values, our beliefs about the function of a library are now often regarded as quaint or dated. I often feel as though I were a dinosaur, facing certain extinction."
"A community without a library is a community without a soul. Libraries, book discussions, and all the rest breed dialog, civility. In the view of the younger generation - my view of libraries is narrow. And they might be right. It's certainly not going my way; to put it bluntly, 'That train done gone.' I don't see anything great happening and I'm still reeling from being a dinosaur."
That said, she's still a pretty influential dinosaur, because people still want to be guided to good books, and for obvious reasons a recommendation from Nancy Pearl is an excellent place to begin.
"I finish one book for every twenty-five I start. Those are the ones I talk about. That's a lot different than when I started; then I finished one in every ten, but there's so much more 'not good' being published now. I'm not necessarily looking for a page-turner. I want writing so wonderful I copy down whole paragraphs. I'm so tired of badly written books, clunky characters, and all the rest."
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
