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March 27, 2017

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Browsers’ Bookstore

by Jim

Browsers' Bookstore
This is Browsers’ Bookstore, in Albany, Oregon.

(Click here to view the interactive picture in a new tab. When it opens, click and drag to look around.)

This is Browser’s Bookstore, a locally-owned used bookstore in Albany, Oregon. It has a wonderfully diverse range of books, from essentially brand new, to one that is about 450 years old, covering virtually all topics. This VR was taken for my WWP “Concrete” project.

In this age of ebooks and cloud data, physical books represent a “concrete” form of information. This particular store celebrates that through attention to many physical aspects of the books — often seeking matching dust covers for those who have lost them, or working to restore those which have become damaged over time but are worth preserving for future generations.

This care illustrates the value of books that extends beyond just the information they contain. Physical artifacts engage our mind and senses in ways that abstract representations do not. In addition, some books have historical or sentimental value, and some topics simply do not present well on electronic screens. Because of these things, it’s important to keep the flow of physical books going.

Plus, books are just cool!

Photography Notes

This was a single exposure level, white balanced with a Whibal card. Unfortunately, compression shows up too much in trying to read book titles, etc. In many cases, the text is readable in the full resolution picture, but the compression that makes it viewable online removes that detail. However, there are ways to deal with that, so looks like it’s time to look into those technologies.

1 Comment Post a comment
  1. Apr 17 2017

    Boy, thats the Browsers *I* remember – chock-a-bloc with more books than can reasonably be expected to fit. A wonderland of words. One of the things I miss most about Albany.

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