
Secrets of the London Library - benbreen
http://londonist.com/2016/06/secrets-of-the-london-library
======
DanBC
> The Football Association was established at a fiery meeting in which the
> rules of football were laid down. Blackheath FC were overruled in their wish
> to allow "hacking" (kicking an opponent in the leg)

That developed into its own, less popular, sport.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin-
kicking](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin-kicking)

> Shin-kicking, also known as hacking[1] or purring, is a combat sport that
> involves two contestants attempting to kick each other on the shin in order
> to force their opponent to the ground. It has been described as an English
> martial art.[1] It originated in England in the early 17th century, and was
> one of the most popular events at the Cotswold Olympic Games until the Games
> ended in the 1850s.[2]

Here's a short video from GLoucester shin kicking
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN21wCbxjWk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN21wCbxjWk)

Gloucestershire is also home to the annual Cheese Rolling. (No broken limbs
this year.)

~~~
emmelaich
People might like the novel "Rose" by Martin Cruz Smith (he of Gorky Park
fame) who wrote a book set in Wigan which features (naked) clog fighting aka
shin kicking.

[https://www.amazon.com/Rose-Martin-Cruz-Smith-
ebook/dp/B006Q...](https://www.amazon.com/Rose-Martin-Cruz-Smith-
ebook/dp/B006Q1SPUO)

------
f_allwein
Great institution, though a bit expensive. I heard about it through a blog
post by Stephen Fry, who is a big fan:
[http://www.stephenfry.com/2011/12/londonlibrary/](http://www.stephenfry.com/2011/12/londonlibrary/)

I did not join, but did go on one of their public tours, which was really
interesting: [http://www.londonlibrary.co.uk/about-us/public-tours-
events](http://www.londonlibrary.co.uk/about-us/public-tours-events)

------
ragix
I would love to spend a few days there just taking it all in.

I visited Europe for the first time last year. My favorite part of the holiday
was walking through the streets of the old village's in Germany and
Switzerland marvelling at the history.

Here in New Zealand a 100 year old building seems ancient. So a 1,000 year old
bridge was mind blowing.

We got invited to a mass in the church at the local castle in the village we
stayed in, that was an unreal experience. Something I will never forget. I
don't think Europeans realise how lucky they're to be so connected to there
past.

~~~
andyjdavis
>I don't think Europeans realise how lucky they're to be so connected to there
past.

It is a double edged sword. Its great they have that connection but that can
lead people to glamorize the past and to focus on trying to hold onto the past
while neglecting the future.

When I spend time in the UK I am always surprised how frequently history comes
up in conversation, how positively it is spoken about and how gloomy
everyone's descriptions of the present and future are. Apparently the past was
great and the future is bleak (even years pre-Brexit). There is one notable
exception, the Margaret Thatcher years get brought up at least once a week by
family/friends/strangers on the bus and described very negatively

In Australia where I am from the past bright/future gloomy logic is reversed.
The past rarely comes up and discussions about the present and future tends
towards optimism.

------
tedmiston
> Accompanying it is a Victorian version of Google — books are arranged by a
> proprietary subject classification system designed by the organising supremo
> Charles Hagberg Wright, librarian from 1893 to 1940.

I had up until this point thought everyone just used the Dewey Decimal system,
but it turns out library classification algorithms are quite a bit more
nuanced than expected.

> Some classification systems are more suitable for aiding subject access,
> rather than for shelf location. For example, Universal Decimal
> Classification, which uses a complicated notation of pluses and colons, is
> more difficult to use for the purpose of shelf arrangement but is more
> expressive compared to DDC in terms of showing relationships between
> subjects. Similarly faceted classification schemes are more difficult to use
> for shelf arrangement, unless the user has knowledge of the citation order.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_classification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_classification)

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theoh
The London Library may be wonderful, but it embodies one side of the old "two
cultures": disdain for the technical (quantitative) side of science and
technology.

From Wikipedia (sorry):

"Pure and natural sciences, technology, medicine and law are not within the
library's purview, although it has some books in all of those fields; books on
their histories are normally acquired."

------
tedmiston
> The books in the lending collection date from 1700 to the present day —
> there are over one million of them, housed on the shelves together — and all
> can be borrowed.

I wonder how they bill the cost of a lost book _that_ irreplaceable.

~~~
yitchelle
Somehow, the "my dog chewed on it" excuse would not cut it. :-)

Seriously, do they have a profile for those who can borrow a book, and under
what conditions can the book be lent?

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B1FF_PSUVM
And so the net sings of its dying begetters. _Sic transit_.

------
moneypenny
I have been a member for some years now and it's definitely my favourite place
in London (and thus, the planet) but that's entirely because I'm somewhat
institutionalized and feel quite at home here. Only a few weeks ago I
discovered an entire stairwell and section I had no idea about. An absolute
treasure and packed with treasure.

~~~
lorenzhs
All your other comments from the last ~3yrs are marked as [dead] (and this one
was, too) -- you might be hellbanned, just fyi. Declaring London above all
else in the world is certainly controversial, but not downvote-into-oblivion
contoversial ;)

------
ribs
Wry writing.

~~~
Bromskloss
The field was trampled, but now I see the rye righting.

