I’ve had this account for longer than I can remember. I feel kinda bad for changing the username a few times. It was back when I wasn’t too sure about what to do with my art and writing. I was trying to keep things separate, and then throwing everything in one pot. I simply couldn’t decide.
And now I’m kinda trying something again. I haven’t decided what’s the purpose of this art account. I mean… other than a place to post my art experiments until I can figure out what I’m doing.
So here it is.
Sadly, this is something I’ve been dealing with constantly throughout my life.
I remember in the third year of university I had this practical course… I’m not even sure what we were doing exactly. I can’t remember. But usually the class dynamics would go like this:
That pretty much was the entire scope of the class. So, imagine my surprise, when after completing the course and getting my excellent grade, it was reported back to me by other students, that the PA was going around all the other groups telling them the magnificent story of how I redeemed myself after she thought I was a cheater.
You see… only those who had trouble understanding the material, were told to solve equations in front of the class. I never did. So I completed my assignments and submitted reports. During the final exam, the PA asked me to sit right in front of her and do the task in my notebook, while two other students were doing theirs on the blackboard. She gave me the assignment and turned away to help another student.
Two minutes later, she turned back to me and said: “Why aren’t you doing the assignment?”
To which I replied: “I’m done.”
I walked out of that auditorium having no idea that anything was happening behind the scenes. In the meantime, the PA would tell anyone who cared to listen, that she assumed I was dumb and paid for all my reports. And of course, I “surprised” her by actually solving the damn equation in under two minutes while sitting in front of her, while she was helping her star student who was confused in front of the blackboard.
Take what you want from this story.
Do you know that song from the Arthur cartoon? Having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card! Or something along the lines… Well, today I finally managed to get back on Libby and it only took a few hours of intense research and 50 dollars. It really is that easy! Or not?
I remember years ago having a conversation in the comment section of some YouTube video about how it is so easy to access books via a library system. And I had to explain to the person that… no, actually, it really depends on your location. You see, libraries are cherished for providing books for free. And for a long time that was the case in my local community. But at some point my local libraries decided to start charging a fee for taking out books… in case people fail to return them at a later time. No, not a late fee, but a fee to take out the book in the first place. And depending on the book, they would decide on the price, sometimes racking up a pretty penny. I remember the first time I got hit with the question “Wait, didn’t you have to pay a fee for this book? It looks new.” And I didn’t have much to say because to me the book wasn’t of much literary value, to my dismay! And it was at least a decade old, so paying full market price for a library book seemed a little strange. And you might say that “This is just a ‘holding’ fee and you’ll get you money back when you return the book!” I tried doing that and immediately felt bad for the librarian, who was trying to find cash to give back to me. Of course, the money has already been spent on something else. So the entire premise turned out to be a lie. And don’t get me started on government funding! I could write a whole new blog post on why that is an issue locally. It’s a very complicated topic. At this point I’m starting to believe that the entire publisher-government-library pipeline is designed to destroy the industry. I wouldn’t go as far as to claim that I ahve solid proof, but I do have a strong feeling and too many observations to prove my point.
So trying to acquire books via local libraries is looking more and more like a scam. At some point, I stopped trying and turned to international libraries. I managed to get ahold of a library card and use Libby for about a year. But it was around the time when these how-to guides were promoted all over the internet, and I guess too many people abused the system. I also came across a few opinions that it was somehow connected to the Covid lockdowns and cuts in funding. So, libraries started reducing the services for non-residents and even international customers.
Ever since I lost access to Libby, I’ve been trying to get it back. I looked through dozens of discussion forums, library websites, and agregate blog posts. And finally, this morning I signed up at a library that shall not be named, got my account information in an email, and just a minute later I had the joy and privilege of browsing the wast library collection and taking out an audiobook that I’m currently listening to.
I love Libby! Not only for the easy access to books and audiobooks. I like flipping through their digital magazine catalogue and also using the extra resources. Like the Hoopla website that is like the Netflix of libraries.
At the same time, I have to acknowledge that my country is a cesspool of digital piracy. In the most recent news, a popular book catalogue announced that they are stopping all operations. This has sparked discussions on the importnace of said website due to it being the place of last resort for many obscure scientific works which the last few generations of academics have used for their research. Then again, all those resources were not licensed, so even the existence of that website was highly unethical in today’s standards.
This got me thinking (as someone who’s been wrecking my brain trying to figure out how to get more Ukrainian classics onto project Gutenberg), if those books were really that precious, surely academics had an interest in legalizing and preserving them. Why wasn’t anything done? Was there even a discussion? Not today, when the website is already as good as gone. But back when all these students and professors were downloading illegally obtained materials for their personal use and gain. Why did they never stop to think that maybe what they were doing was wrong and would harm their own community in the long run?
So many questions, and no one bothered enough to answer them.
I remember doing these regular quarterly planning posts on one of my old blogs, and decided to try and bring them back here! Even though it may be easier to write the results after they have been achieved, sometimes it’s good to sketch out your goals to know what you are looking forward to. Let’s do this in 2026!
First of all, I’ll start with a general year overview and some big picture goals. Here is what I’ve been thinking about recently…
(more…)The year 2025 is coming to an end, so it’s probably just the right time to write a summary blog post and reminisce on all the things that made this year a little better. In the past, I have done NY Resolutions and barely ever stuck to the plan. But who says that you aren’t allowed to change things up? Instead of making plans for the year to come, you can think about all the things that you’ve accomplished or feel grateful for having in your life and helping you get through life’s hurdles! Let’s do it!
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