Not a single book!

Last week I was in HR Smiths in town browsing thro the book section, and you know what---- there wasnt a single book on fishing ,
This afternoon I just happened to be in my local library and ------yes, you've guessed -----
Not one single book on fishing there either.
I've been saying for years now that anglings dying a slow death, great shame that young kids cant have access to them like I/we did years ago.

flightliner said:

Last week I was in HR Smiths in town browsing thro the book section, and you know what---- there wasnt a single book on fishing ,
This afternoon I just happened to be in my local library and ------yes, you've guessed -----
Not one single book on fishing there either.
I've been saying for years now that anglings dying a slow death, great shame that young kids cant have access to them like I/we did years ago.

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You are right about the lack of angling books in libraries today . We have had a new ultra modern library in Dagenham along with computers game, film and music library. If you know what books you want they will do a search and if available they will get them transferred for you. But sadly gone are the days when you had a standing choice. There is nothing like reading to get things to stick in your head.

I had a look in my local library a few weeks ago and they only had a handful of angling books. They all seemed very dated, not that the information wouldn't have been useful, but certainly nothing current and most of the images were illustrations rather than photographs.

Nothing wrong with illustrations

Angling books not being in libraries isn't a disaster. If the modern formats such as youtube and internet forums were a dearth of fishing information and knowledge then there would be cause for concern regarding the future of angling. But as we know its alright.

Them libraries will probably be a block of flats in ten or so years anyhow, as horrible as that sounds.

Not sure that a lack of books in the library is an indicator of the slow death of our pastime. More likely an indicator of how many people have moved away from paper and are using other medium.

Personally I am a huge fan of tactile books as opposed to the sterile Kindle, e-book or similar.

theartist said:

Nothing wrong with illustrations

Angling books not being in libraries isn't a disaster. If the modern formats such as youtube and internet forums were a dearth of fishing information and knowledge then there would be cause for concern regarding the future of angling. But as we know its alright.

Them libraries will probably be a block of flats in ten or so years anyhow, as horrible as that sounds.

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Our new library has the flats built on top of it.

Ours is a brand new one , purpose built, no flats but a nice asset to the area.the sporting section is rather narrow tho but, if you want to know about David beckham you have more choice than a kid in a sweetshop!.

Funnily enough and on Tinkers recommendation which I don't think I got round to mentioning to him I visited the British Library in London last year. I was nearby and had a couple of hours to kill but, I could not join (which was free and anyone can join) as I did not have the right identification on me, however; I looked up there list of angling books on the computer and I was surprised to see some modern ones in the list. There were not many books on angling per say but I thought it would be all old books. I cannot remember for sure but, I think there was one from Graham Marsden and/or Mark Wintle in the list.

My local library is not bad but, they are all dated. "Where to fish 1985" sort of thing but, it has several computers which are always full and they have to be booked and they can only be booked for an hour. People are more interested in the computers than the books.
What irks me is a see people sitting there playing card/gambling games on these computers. I saw one playing patience with playing cards once-How sad is that. !!

Lack of books in libraries, indeed lack of libraries, isn't an indicator that our sport is dying. Just have a look on e bay to see the the way angling book prices have plummeted over recent years. As has been said there are so many more mediums available today to gather information and knowledge.

Personally speaking I don't think you can beat a hard copy book, very tactile, and when it's an old book there's something about thinking about those readers who have gone before. Whereas Kindles etc are just cold sterile words.

flightliner said:

Last week I was in HR Smiths in town browsing thro the book section, and you know what---- there wasnt a single book on fishing ,
This afternoon I just happened to be in my local library and ------yes, you've guessed -----
Not one single book on fishing there either.
I've been saying for years now that anglings dying a slow death, great shame that young kids cant have access to them like I/we did years ago.

Click to expand...

I've never seen a fishing book in WH Smith's and I'd never expect to see one. It offers a limited range of books for the mass market - best selling novels, travel, cookery, sport.

As for local libraries, the one I go to is well stocked with recently published angling books. There's a tendency now for anglers to independently publish their own books, and I rarely see these in libraries. I think it's because they are fairly expensive, and libraries don't have the money to buy them.

I found it a little sad as in the recant past there were angling books on my library shelves but none now, it was the same in WH Smithes up to a year or so ago but not now.
Maybe my veiws on anglings seemingly dwindling numbers have been gleaned from the area/region where I live.
It used to be said that if a filmaker wanted to portray a city without men then sheffield (or any town close to it ) would be the place to film on june the sixteenth as they had all caught trains , the milk train to Brigg , and another two fully loaded ones down to Bosten in lincolnshire dropping guys off on the Chesterfield canal, the rivers idle, Trent , the Fossdyke canal, and all the way down the lower Witham from lincoln to boston, some thirty six miles of river (and anglers). There were times when you couldnt find a spot to fish and that was thro the entire season.
Besides the trains there were rows of coaches lind up in the city centre that went to just about every place you could find in the fens.All the local ponds, reservoirs, dams were used extensively by guys who maybe had to work a shift in a factory and could only fish a short session.
Sheffield had a tackle shop that served every local area and the owners made good livings from them too.
Matches were held by every single pub and working mens club in the town/region and all the factories and pits did the same, some matches numbered well over a thousand competitors many others doing them with three/ four hundred.
Now you can visit most all the places ive mentioned and they are empty, the tackle shops gone, the pits n steelworks closed and a big match numbers twenty guys on a "baggin " water.
There are one or two on here that experienced all of that as I did and like me may look back on times when angling here , regionally and nationally was pretty much the same but sadly or otherwise is no more.
Little wonder perhaps that libraries dont need to put books on fishing on there shelves, very sad because there are kids out there living in some big place who could maybe enjoy the thrill of reading of some wonderous place like thousands did in the recant past, of water, fish and the potential pleasure of indulging in its magic.
Maybe it all looks pretty much as its always done in some areas but compared to times only recantly gone by in my area angling is a mere shadow of what it once was.
All a bit sad to see really.

markg said:

I visited the British Library in London last year. I was nearby and had a couple of hours to kill but, I could not join (which was free and anyone can join) as I did not have the right identification on me, however; I looked up there list of angling books on the computer and I was surprised to see some modern ones in the list.

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The British Library requests (or used to) a copy of every book published in the UK, so they should have absolutely everything.

geoffmaynard said:

The British Library requests (or used to) a copy of every book published in the UK, so they should have absolutely everything.

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I expect your right Geoff-It was last summer and I cannot remember exactly what I saw or what search detail I entered. I just remember a list and some quite modern ones as well. And I am sure one or maybe two were by Graham Marsden. I think one of them was with Mark Wintle as well. I know they have collaborated on a few books I believe. Anyway, just from my memory which gets a bit vague these days. The list could have been longer than I remember.

Personally i find reading books about fishing a little boring, i'm not one of those fishermen who loves everything fishy.
I don't mind Blogs from time to time as some of them can be very interesting and informative. Not only that, you can buy a fishing book and find out it's as boring as hell and a waste of money, at least on the internet it is generally free.

Just my thoughts.

Mind you, i'm still to young to be going in to WH Smiths

Our library is full of books on game fishing.
There's one for coarse anglers - Keith Arthur's imaginatively titled "Fishing".
I get my books from charity shops and car boots.
Bought a good one yesterday with a great picture of Mick Brown looking like a bass player from the Grateful Dead.

I can only remember there being mediocre fishing books in the libraries when I was younger. There were no Fred Buller's or Richard Walker's books.

Do kids go into libraries and borrow books these days? I don't recall seeing any when I used to call in. It was largely used by two groups; young foreign males using the free Internet connected computers and old geezers researching extinct industries and old maps of where they lived.

I used to take my lad regularly when he was younger and our library has a good kids section and he used to use his full allowance too. Now the teenager has landed. Need I say anymore! Welcome back Nicepix

Searching Poole, Bournemouth and Dorset libraries found plenty of angling books; general how to do it are popular along with Blood Knots, Yates How to Fish and Robson Green's Extreme Fishing. Some of the Crowood books do well with my Pole book being in 7 libraries.

Should it really surprise us that there are not many fishing books in the library?

How often do you see young 'uns in the library browsing for fishing books, let alone any kind of books?

My two can be constantly found head down twitterpating or posting on facebook poking all and sundry. mg: I can't remember the last time one of them lifted their head and actually spoke.

The times they are a-changin'.

Sadly slaphead what you say is true, and with Council 'cutbacks' the situation will only get worse, specialist subject matter taking a back seat.

The main library in our local town is usually frequented all day, by more 'senior' people who are there to read all the papers, socialise, and keep WARM, for free.