Natural Selection

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent. but the ones most responsive to change”

This quote could apply as easily to Burning Man and the Burning Library as it does to the theory of natural selection. 

As a complement to Burning Man 2009’s Evolution theme, Alex from Toronto has added Charles Darwin’s The Origin of the Species to the collection. In addition, he is also contributing Noam Chomsky’s What Uncle Sam Really Wants and Thomas S. Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. As always, you can check out the full collection on LibraryThing.

The most exciting news of all is that Alex himself will be joining us at Burning Man! So keep an eye out for this Natural Librarian as he strolls the sandy streets of Black Rock City.

Setup

The van that we took to BM was very full (plus four passengers).

 

Very full van

Which meant that there was no room for for bookshelves. What to do? Around day two, we figured out that empty water jugs, sufficiently modified, make pretty good shelves. If you cut the top off at the right angle, you are left with the handle, which allows you to hang the bookshelves from a car or tarp. These containers are just about right for a mass market paperback, and a little cramped for taller formats such as graphic novels.

The library sign works! It draws new patrons like moths to a flame!

The Burning Library ended up being less of a reading room and more of a lending library. Patrons loved to browse the collection, but generally took items with them rather than staying to read them. Fellow dancing librarian Amanda asked whether it still counts as a library if the patrons are keeping the books instead of borrowing them. My response to this question would be that it is indeed a library, but one that follows the ‘distributed collection’ model. 

In this case, by taking books with them, patrons extend the collection in physical space. Rather than being confined to a suitcase, or a few water jugs, the collection becomes spread across North America (and perhaps further). The patrons have been asked to pass each item along when they are done with it. In identifying new users for the collection and sharing items, patrons actively promote access to information. In a sense, they become the librarians. This shifting of responsibility and power from one individual to many seems appropriate to the spirit of Burning Man as a whole.