From: jason_hindle@yahoo.com   
      
   On 13/02/2026 05:48, Lawrence DOliveiro wrote:   
   >Today I visited a local University where an employee, a friend of   
   >mine, was having his retirement sendoff. While I was there, I had a   
   >look in their Library.   
   >   
   >I can remember, years ago, the Library building had four levels, each   
   >full of books. Now, the building is twice the size, by adding the   
   >equivalent of a second building’s worth of floor space beside the   
   >existing one, so it still has four levels, each with double the area.   
   >But all the books (that would have been part of the old collection)   
   >now fit on just one level. There is a new specialist “Law Library” on   
   >another level, but the rest is filled with computer terminals, meeting   
   >spaces etc.   
   >   
   >So four (old-size) floors’ worth of books is now down to just two.   
   >   
   >I had a look at the computing section. I found books dating back ten   
   >years or more. Apart from historical interest, I can’t see much of   
   >that being of value to the current students.   
   >   
   >So, like it or not, we are steadily moving more and more into an   
   >online world. And some subjects are moving faster than others.   
      
   The last editions of Unix In A Nutshell and Linux In A Nutshell were both   
    published in 2009. Paper books are still a thing, but more so in the arts   
    and humanities. I'm still kicking myself for leaving my good friends   
    Kernighan and Ritchie behind when the office got permanently closed during   
    lockdown.   
      
   --   
   --   
   A PICKER OF UNCONSIDERED TRIFLES   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)