by D. Lalitha Rao
When I was studying for my Library Science degree, we had a professor who would teach through anecdotes that often had us in splits. To stress how important it is for a librarian to know the location and appearance of every single book on the shelves he would narrate how a student came to him once and asked him, “Sir, please give me the red book with four authors.” Only the librarian’s years of experience plus the fact that, the particular book was most in demand among the students of B.Com prevented him from throwing the student out.
We librarians are used to the strangest demands, believe me. I have always felt that a library should be the friendliest place, where you can curl up in a corner with your book or browse shelves undisturbed by time or crowds.
I have always loved cataloguing books. To determine the subject of a book, and to give it the appropriate numbers in the cataloguing system and then place it correctly in the shelves — it gives me a sense of joy. The circulation desk is, of course, where all the activities go on in a library, with people coming and going constantly, borrowing or returning books, and searching for particular volumes. However, the stacks — the shelves where books are stored — is where the heart of the library resides.
The simplest arrangement of books is by subject matter and the world’s libraries use mostly what is known as the Dewey Decimal System of cataloguing created by Professor Melvil Dewey in America in the 19th century. You may have seen in libraries like The British Council numbers on the spine of any book: a set of 3 numbers followed by a decimal point and then further sets of numbers. The first number is the code for the subject and can be from 0 to 9. Thus 954 is the number classification for Indian History. Anyway, to get a librarian started on the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system is asking for trouble, so I will spare you the details.
At first this whole classification business was confined to ten subjects and a hundred sub-categories. Now, as the frontiers of knowledge become ever distant, there is no limit to subjects. The DDC is already in its 23rd edition and has 4 volumes compared to the 4-page pamphlet published in 1876 by Dewey.
In the 1930s, Dr. Ranganathan of Madras University invented the Colon Classification, an extremely complex system but one which could include many more subjects than the Western-centric DDC. Madras University Library and then Delhi University Library were among those catalogued according to the Colon Classification (CC). The system has now fallen into disuse as there are not many people proficient enough to teach it to students of Library Science. Even the very old Nilgiris Library in Ooty which used CC is now digitizing its catalogue as per the DDC.
Sooner or later one has to make way for new ideas, improvements and new versions of the old. Browsing in my personal library some days ago, I unearthed the Agatha Christies that I own, and was happily leafing through them. Coincidentally, I found in an online bookstore a brand new mystery that I ordered right away. It so happened that I read two newly published books which I must share with you.
The first book I read was the mystery I have mentioned above, by British author Sophie Hannah, in which she brings back to life the legendary Agatha Christie detective Hercule Poirot. This is not the first time that fictional icons that died with their creators have been revived. Anthony Horowitz a few years ago wrote The House Of Silk, a riveting story of Sherlock Holmes, and has now written Moriarty, which I am eagerly waiting for.
So, Hercule Poirot in The Monogram Murders. Was it an interesting read? Most certainly. Was it Hercule Poirot? To my mind, and I feel most Christie loyalists will feel the same, Poirot as presented by Hannah lacks a certain gentleness that Christie’s character possessed. This Poirot is more egotistical, rather boastful, as brilliant as ever, but perhaps not as endearing. The humour is not Christie’s, naturally but then the plot has more complexity. In fact, in terms of complexity it compares with some of the classic cases that are solved by Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. Sleeping Murder comes to mind as also The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. I think this is probably the reason that for the first time the heirs of Agatha Christie’s estate have given permission to publish a book containing her characters, so I assume Miss Marple will also reappear some time. To read The Monogram Murders, you must forget that Hercule Poirot existed before (very difficult) and just go with the story. The only way to enjoy it.
The other book was Chetan Bhagat’s latest, called Half Girlfriend. Set in Bihar, New Delhi and New York, the story takes us through several years in the life of a boy from rural India, as he falls in love with a typically wealthy Delhiwali but has neither the social skills nor the smarts to deal with it. The same goes for his super rich girlfriend as she leads him a merry dance. Even though you can sense that our author has a soft corner for her, perhaps more than for the hero, I found it difficult to feel much sympathy for her. Supposedly she has psychological issues that we get to hear about much later in the story.
At another level the story of rural India is sensitively told, with the clash of feudalism, local politics and corruption sharply defined. All ends well, but I was left feeling slightly irritated at the end of the saga and several times I felt that both protagonists needed a good smack on the head. No, I haven’t forgotten what it was like to be in love, but why has Mr. Bhagat forgotten that he can write better? Where is the superb timing of Five Point Someone, the humour of Two States? You should read this because it’s a Chetan Bhagat quick read, but don’t expect too much.
I am myself working on a modern revamping of a very ancient and much loved story and will share it with you when done. Till then happy reading.
[e-mail: raolalitha@hotmail.com]
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / Sunday, October 26th, 2014
