A shared reference that we risk losing in a digital age
I worry about the disappearance of books from universities. A recent visit to our science library reminded me of how many stacks of books we have replaced with desks for student computers. No doubt it is a sign of my age that the solidity of books, their feel and their psychogeography makes them feel more trustworthy than the glut of results and irrelevant advertising that is returned by internet searches. And my sense of being old was reinforced by some students who had never heard of one of the legendary authors of practical chemistry: Arthur Vogel.