2009年2月1日星期日

circulating library, leveling distinction

To Thomas Augst, an English professor at New York University who has studied the history of libraries, including those in the past that were run as businesses, what is significant is that the digitization of books is ending the distinction between circulating libraries, meant for public readers, and research libraries, meant for scholars. It’s not as if anyone from the public can walk into the Harvard library.

“A positive way to look at what Google is doing,” he said, “is that it is advancing the circulating of books and leveling these distinctions.”

Definition

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circulate Show phonetics
verb [I or T]
to move around or through something, or to make something move around or through something:
Hot water circulates through the heating system.
I try to circulate (= move around and talk to a lot of people) at a party and not just stay with the friends I came with.
I've circulated a good luck card for everyone to sign.

circulation Show phonetics
noun
1 [U] when something such as information, money or goods passes from one person to another:
Police have warned that there are a lot of fake £50 notes in circulation.
Add her name to the circulation list for this report (= the people who will be given it to read).
FIGURATIVE I hear she's out of circulation/back in circulation (= taking part/not taking part in social activities) after her accident.

2 [C usually singular] the number of people to whom a newspaper or magazine is regularly sold:
The paper has a circulation of 150 000.

3 [U] the movement of blood around the body:
Exercise helps to improve circulation.

cir・cu・late

━━ v. めぐる［らす］, 循環する［させる］; 流布(るふ)［流通］する［させる］, 配布する.

cir・cu・lat・ing　━━ a. 循環する; 巡回する.
circulating capital　流動資本.
circulating decimal　【数】循環小数.
circulating library　貸し本屋.
circulating register　【コンピュータ】循環レジスタ.

cir・cu・la・tion

　━━ n. 循環; 流通; 配布; 発行部数; 売れ行き; 通貨; （うわさなどの）流布, 伝播(でんぱ).