Impulse borrower

One thing I've noticed as I've switched from buying books to borrowing them is that I have also become an impulse borrower, much more so than I was a buyer. Though I often have several books out at once, the eight that I currently have checked out are too much for me as they vie for attention with several other books I own, Tomorrow, then, I'll be returning some of them because I am not going to get to them.

This includes the much discussed Zazie in the Metro, of which I have only read half. That said, Zazie and her uncle Gabriel have already left their mark on me. And who's to say you can't go back later and pick up where you left off?

Zazie in the Metro? Oui, oui!

As noted in my last post I was in need of a copy of Raymond Queneau's Zazie in the Metro middle of this week. When I could not find one at either Denver Public or the 16th Street Mall Barnes & Noble (this all took place on a lunch break) I decided to let it go for the moment.

That is when Michelle from Denver Public gently reminded me about Prospector:

Hi,

I have a search feed for Denver Public Library so I occasionally see your
posts. I checked Prospector and a couple local libraries have the Zazie book,
including DU, and it says it's currently available so with your DPL card you can
place a hold on it and should get it in a couple days. http://prospector.coalliance.org/

Hope that's helpful.

Michelle

February 20, 2008 6:13 AM

It was helpful and I now have a copy of Zazie courtesy Prospector and the University of Denver Penrose Library.

I know I have mentioned Prospector before but I do not think I've explained or described it. Basically it is an agreement among some libraries in Colorado and Wyoming to provide inter library loan services to members of those libraries. It also offers a singular search platform.

Their web site describes it as:

Prospector is a unified catalog of twenty three academic, public and special
libraries in Colorado and Wyoming. Through Prospector you have access to over 20
million books, journals, DVDs, CDs, videos and other materials held in these
libraries. With a single search you can identify and borrow materials from the
collections and have them delivered to your local library.

I am quite a fan of Prospector, actually, and I believe this is my 4th book this year that I have obtained through the system. Part of what makes it so user friendly is that I do not have to go through a Denver Public search before accessing it. If I have the feeling that a certain title might be somewhat obscure, I often go to Prospector first. That way it will search Denver Public's holdings as well as the other libraries in the Prospector system. It's a nice intermediate step between my local library and WorldCat.

---
On a completely unrelated note I downloaded the latest album by The Mountain Goats, Heretic Pride this morning. Somehow I found the time to to listen to the album twice in its entirety today and I am particularly smitten with the first two tracks, "Sax Rohmer #1" and "San Bernadino."

To say I have been meaning to check The Mountain Goats out for a while would be an understatement. A friend first played them for me back in 1995 or 1996. Though I remember liking them, my introduction came at a time when I was trying to break out of my indie rock shell. And so I shelved them, but only for a dozen years.

That initial impression stuck with me, though, and work this evening I tracked down the first song of theirs I ever heard, "New Star Song" from the 1996 ep Beautiful Rat Sunset, all based on the way he sang "Canada."

Zazie in the Metro?

I went to the Barnes & Noble on the 16th Street Mall today is search of Raymond Queneau's Zazie in the Metro. Denver Public Library doesn't have a copy and rather than wait for an inter library loan I was tempted to use my $25 "lifeline" to pick it up.

Alas the Barnes & Noble did not have a copy either.

This was my first real trip to a book store since I started not buying books. It was like visiting old friends. I stopped and read the opening passages of Fahrenheit 451 and was intrigued by the cover of the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel pictured below.

But I didn't buy any books. Not even this one: