One of the high points of ALA Midwinter was meeting Rick Prelinger who I had been swapping email with for a while. He runs one of my favorite quirky archives/libraries in San Francisco. Eli dropped by for a visit this week and discusses what she saw there.
Okay, you should sit down now. Take a few deep breaths. Have a bit of vinegar handy to wave in front of your nose. Ready? There’s no catalog. There’s no call number system of classification. There’s not even rigorously enforced alphabetization of titles (or authors) within sections. It’s deliberate and there’s a philosophy behind it.