Why does the Duke library carry Playboy and not Playgirl. Is this sexist? Why do they carry Playboy at all?
Ans.: Prurience aside, Playboy, we believe, best represents a certain genre of publication. It surpasses similar publications in its early historical influence and in its lengthy interviews and articles on various social phenomenon. If you would like the Periodicals Review Committee to have another go round on Playgirl, fill out one of the request forms nearby.
Could you please order Export Marketing Handbook, by W. Nagel and G. Nydyjunwoha, Praeger Publishers, N.Y.?
How about getting a subscription to “The World & I”, published by the Washington Times? It is an excellent monthly, but it’s a bit pricey for a graduate student. I’m tired of reading significant articles standing at a magazine stand.
So sorry you couldn’t join the hundreds of other university libraries that acquired Politics and Beef in Argentina by Peter Smith (Columbia UP, 1969). I know it’s a long time ago — it just shows that the scattershot acquisitions policy has a nice heritage to it.
Please do what you can to subscribe to The Intellectual Activist, a pamphlet-periodical. (Sorry- if I had a copy anywhere, I’d be able to tell you where it’s published.)
How come we stopped subscribing to American Photographer in 1948? UNC & NC State get it currently. Is there any way to get copies sent over w/out going all the way over there & finding them?
Ans.: To obtain library materials not owned by the Duke Libraries, interlibrary loan service is available to undergraduates, graduates, and faculty. Interlibrary Loan staff may request photocopies of journal articles from UNC, NCSU, or another library owning the material needed. Books and microforms may also be requested. Please come by the Interlibrary Loan Office at 114 Perkins Library to initiate an ILL request. Our staff will be glad to assist you.
Get Shakespeare plays on video!!
So if this is such a great university, why don’t you carry papers like The Star, The Enquirer, and other great gossip papers in the library.
Ans.: And why no comic books or sex videos for checkout in public libraries? Probably it’s more fiscal responsibility than blue-nose puritanism on our part.
How do we go about acquiring new videos of films in the Reserve room? We are sorely missing some classics, notably “The Hustler.”
Sincerely, a concerned film addict
Ans.: We make choices from a long list of requests. Factors influencing a purchase decision, within a very limited budget, include the reputation of the film, its place in the curriculum, and the potential frequency of use.
I think you should subscribe to Billboard Magazine. Even Carolina has it.
Ans.: Your suggestion, raising our competitive ire, will go to the Periodicals Review Committee for consideration.
We badly need updated grammars & dictionaries in Chinese & Japanese. These languages were greatly changed after the 1949 Chinese Liberation and the 1945 post-WWII American occupation. Older grammars/dictionaries simply won’t do because so many characters in the writing system have changed over the past few years. Also, a Chinese dictionary including simplified characters would be very useful.
Are you considering buying ERIC on CD-ROM?
Please, without further delay, order the book Class, by Paul Fussel. It is hilarious, and very appropriate for the large amount of snobs at Duke. Forget putting it up at the board meeting — order it now and face the consequences.
Buy copies of Psmith In the City and Psmith Journalist (Perhaps also Mike and Psmith). All of these are excellent tomes which would go a long way towards improving your already quite impressive P.G. Wodehouse Collection.
Please get new copies of the H.P. Lovecraft books in the Perkins stacks. They are so old and well-used they are brittle and falling apart. One can hardly turn one of the pages without a chunk of paper chipping and falling off.
Get another copy of Illich’s Deschooling Society. It is an important work. Thanks.
It is quite puzzling as to why a library like this one would subscribe to the mundane, simplistic automotive publication Motor Trend but not the exemplary, creative and highly informative Car and Driver. An explanation would be most appreciated.
Book for acquisition: A Compendium of Misinformation, by Christopher Cerf and Victor Navasky.
There is a great book I really think Library should have called Prometheus Bound. No, not the old Greek thing, but a jewel in the Star Trek series. THIS book answers fundamental questions about human behavior and freedom and life meaning. Well, how do I get you to buy it?
You don’t subscribe to any newspaper from Malaysia or Singapore. How about The Straits Times from Malaysia. I know there is enough of a student population from that area who’d be interested.
For addition to catalogue — more books analyzing trends in Pacific Northwest (and Alaska) economy and state politics in Montana and Washington. Also, I would appreciate access to USA Today for they have numerous short items on state and local economic and political events not found in the Wash. Post, NY Times, Wall Street Journal.
I was recently trying to do some research on the effect of Cuban immigration into South Florida, and I found out that you don’t get The Miami Herald. Why? Miami is one of the fastest growing urban centers in the Southeast, and Duke should know more about it!!!
How about a paper from Houston?
I am a philosophy major, and I have noticed that many of the real classics in my field (Critique of Pure Reason, for example) are available in this library only in copies printed before the second World War! This means most of them contain nearly a half-century of underlining/highlighting, which is extremely irritating to read. Also, commentaries and analytical studies of most major philosophers are available only in obscure foreign languages, almost never in English. Why, in a library with such significant resources, are situations such as these allowed not only to occur, but to continue for years on end?
A Life subscription for Perkins would be appropriate — at least as much as People.
Obtain Ayn Rand’s The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution.
My father is a professor of diplomatic history, specializing in Latin America/USA relations since 1880 or so. When he came to visit, he was surprised to find that your collection in this field is inferior to his own school’s library. Since he is at a second-tier state school (UW-Milwaukee, not Madison), this indicates a serious gap in your resources!!
Ans.: And we don’t have any good Mexican restaurants either! Your observation could be more useful for us to respond to had you listed some of the significant authors we are lacking. If you can, please do so or visit with the people in Collection Development. We’ll send your observation to them.
Do y’all carry the illustrated edition of the Kama Sutra? I can’t seem to locate it. Maybe one of the degenerate grad students has it safely filed in his carrel.