Quick question are books back in library

[altair12]

On 3/18/2023 at 1:36 PM, Brissle said:

Anyone of Discovery at the moment ?  What news about books in the library?  

My wife is an avid reader - a book a day at least, so it would be good to know how many she needs to bring!   And yes she has a Kindle but says that there's nothing like a "proper" book.....

We are joining on April 9th - see you there!

The same,agree with you

[danielscott]

On 2/20/2023 at 4:37 PM, Vivaldi said:

While we await pictures of the Library with the books restored, here is a reminder of what it used to be like:

 

My only complaint in the past was that the bookcases didn't indicate the category of books each contained, such as fiction, biography, theoretical physics, and so on (not too many of the latter, I suspect). Nor was there a plan on display to show where to find books of a particular genre, so it was a matter of wandering around until one stumbled across one's area of interest. It`s good that my son adviced me site  https://happyessays.com/read-my-essay/, where i can find essays about different books and discover what whey are about. Even if this site is for students, I find it useful for me too. It would be nice if that could be made a bit easier, but, in any case, it is absolutely splendid news that the Library will be back in action. At last!

Great design in the library, thanks for sharing.
 

[Denarius]

Are the books back yet? When I was on SofD in February we were told that the books would be back on both ships by early March. Are they?

[twotravellersLondon]

22 hours ago, Denarius said:

Are the books back yet? When I was on SofD in February we were told that the books would be back on both ships by early March. Are they?

 

Spirit of Adventure mid March...

 

Library very busy on sea days, coffee station popular, lost of collaboration with the jigsaws and real books on shelves.

 

 

 

 

 

[Windsurfboy]

This looks like a passenger book swapping collection. 

 

Is a properly curated selection of book available,  as per the picture on Saga website. 

[nosapphire]

Beat me to it - I was going to say, "Is that it?"

 

That picture reminded me of a 2-star budget B&B, where a bookcase is put in a corner of the bar so departing guests can dump books they do not want to carry back home.

 

Saga website FAQ still includes the library under the "Covid" section, which says:

Quote: "The libraries aboard both ships are open and stocked with books. Please note a limited selection of uncurated books are available".End quote.

Which statement does not fill me with hope. I

 

[snoopy4]

On SoA now, the library is very poor.

A completely empty book stand and empty shelves.

Many of the 'books' are in fact cardboard boxes made to look like books.

There is paucity of real books & some paperbacks left by previous guests.

The Library is a mere shadow of its former self.

[Windsurfboy]

2 hours ago, snoopy4 said:

On SoA now, the library is very poor.

A completely empty book stand and empty shelves.

Many of the 'books' are in fact cardboard boxes made to look like books.

There is paucity of real books & some paperbacks left by previous guests.

The Library is a mere shadow of its former self.

 

Have you brought this to attention of hotel manager. 

[snoopy4]

Have just spoken to guest services, whilst he was sympathetic, & had heard how poor the library is compared to what it use to be, this was as good as it gets!

I mentioned the number of cardboard books & a guest browsing the titles, who was very disappointed when I pointed out to her they were false.

He said it wasn't a money decision, but with the digital age this was Saga's thinking.

We had previously emailed Nigel Banks on the same subject.

[Brissle]

I phoned Saga direct yesterday as we are joining Spirit of Discovery on Sunday.

The lady assured me, without hesitation, that the library is now fully stocked as before and that the books are not just ones left behind by previous customers.

Who do we believe?

 

[nosapphire]

7 minutes ago, Brissle said:

I phoned Saga direct yesterday as we are joining Spirit of Discovery on Sunday.

The lady assured me, without hesitation, that the library is now fully stocked as before and that the books are not just ones left behind by previous customers.

Who do we believe?

 

Previous experience - Saga shore staff are very often unaware of the true on board situation, so while I really hope that you will be able to report that yes, the library IS fully stocked.... I suspect that you will be disappointed.

 

40 minutes ago, snoopy4 said:

Have just spoken to guest services, whilst he was sympathetic, & had heard how poor the library is compared to what it use to be, this was as good as it gets!

I mentioned the number of cardboard books & a guest browsing the titles, who was very disappointed when I pointed out to her they were false.

He said it wasn't a money decision, but with the digital age this was Saga's thinking.

We had previously emailed Nigel Banks on the same subject.

Well, they're not going to say, "we've got huge mortgages on these ships that we need to start paying down ASAP and our shareholders are all really unhappy so we need to save costs in any areas that we can and think that passengers won't complain too much about" are they?

 

[snoopy4]

Yes there are a relatively few library books and some paperbacks left by other guests.

I have a friend on SoD at the moment, I will try & find out the state of the library.

On the SoA the library is several empty shelves, at least 1 empty bookcase & many cardboard ' books'.

[Windsurfboy]

All we can do is keep complaining to Nigel.blanks@saga.co.uk.

 

Yes it is the digital age,  but digital books and especially tablets are very hard to read in bright sunshine.

 

The more emails he gets the more likely to possibly react. Saga advertise a full library as one of the key facilities on board. 

[Windsurfboy]

1 hour ago, Brissle said:

I phoned Saga direct yesterday as we are joining Spirit of Discovery on Sunday.

The lady assured me, without hesitation, that the library is now fully stocked as before and that the books are not just ones left behind by previous customers.

Who do we believe?

 

 

I would believe the people on board. It's too late for your sailing on Sunday. However if when you get on board, and no books, then an immediate email to Nigel.blanks@saga.co.uk telling him of your phone call and assurance,  and your immense disappointment. This would help others. One benefit of free WiFi on board

Edited April 5, 2023 by Windsurfboy

[snoopy4]

Having just had a very pleasant lunch ( the food on-board is excellent) I returned to the library.

There are 4 empty bookcases, only 4 books remain from previous guests, the majority are cardboard books, they are stuck together, the type you buy by the yard.

The photo showing books under the library picture with book ends are indeed cardboard!

[Denarius]

3 hours ago, snoopy4 said:

Having just had a very pleasant lunch ( the food on-board is excellent) I returned to the library.

There are 4 empty bookcases, only 4 books remain from previous guests, the majority are cardboard books, they are stuck together, the type you buy by the yard.

The photo showing books under the library picture with book ends are indeed cardboard!

When I was onboard during the time the library was closed there was an informal book exchange in operation. Books were left on the library table which held the jigsaws etc . Are these now being placed on the library shelves?

Edited April 5, 2023 by Denarius
spelling

[Windsurfboy]

All we can do is keep letting Saga know , that the library is a facility which guests think is as important as the other things they promise. Must be cheaper than daily crafting workshops and more widely used if there. 

 

Note I'm not saying get rid of crafting,  but I think problem isn't just money. Anyway it's Saga's problem to solve

[Denarius]

1 hour ago, Windsurfboy said:

All we can do is keep letting Saga know , that the library is a facility which guests think is as important as the other things they promise. Must be cheaper than daily crafting workshops and more widely used if there. 

 

Note I'm not saying get rid of crafting,  but I think problem isn't just money. Anyway it's Saga's problem to solve

I suspect that the problem is poor organisation.

When the books were removed I assumed that they were owned by Saga and would have been removed to some onboard storeroom, to be returned at the appropriate time. It transpired that this was not the case and that they were supplied under contract by a third party, to whom the books were presumably returned. It appears that the firm supplying the books went out of business during the time the books were absent, and that a new supplier has now been contracted. I would have thought that Saga would have made clear to them the amount of shelf space to be filled. That it would have then simply been a matter of selecting the books, loading the books onto a waggon, driving it to the docks and transferring them onto the ship. Or is that too simple?

[snoopy4]

Yes the guests paperbacks are on a shelf near the computer work stations (no computers).

[lincslady]

The answer to the 'quick question' is unfortunately definitely not, at present.  We don't get fooled by cardboard 'books'  for long,  Saga.

[FatBoy20]

Just off SoD & Library is fully stocked & only Computers missing!.

[twotravellersLondon]

29 minutes ago, FatBoy20 said:

Just off SoD & Library is fully stocked & only Computers missing!.

 

 

To give a flavour of what's now available... which books from the Library did you most enjoy reading?

[Brissle]

On board Spirit of Discovery now.

I cannot agree that the library is FULLY stocked - at least half the available shelves are empty and there are cardboard imitation books on other shelves.

There is a distinct lack of fiction - but the value of that comment does of course depend on your taste in books.  My wife is an avid reader of historical novels and she says there's virtually nothing of interest to her.

Luckily we brought a dozen or so books with us, which will be donated to the shelf of passenger books.

At least our luggage will be lighter going home ....apart from the litre of pink gin just bought in Gibraltar.!

[twotravellersLondon]

3 hours ago, Brissle said:

On board Spirit of Discovery now.

I cannot agree that the library is FULLY stocked - at least half the available shelves are empty and there are cardboard imitation books on other shelves.

There is a distinct lack of fiction - but the value of that comment does of course depend on your taste in books.  My wife is an avid reader of historical novels and she says there's virtually nothing of interest to her.

Luckily we brought a dozen or so books with us, which will be donated to the shelf of passenger books.

At least our luggage will be lighter going home ....apart from the litre of pink gin just bought in Gibraltar.!

 

So what have you read so far on your cruise that wasn't available;able in the Library? It might give the powers that be some idea of what passengers want to spend their time on.

[nosapphire]

Filling the library with fake books to make it look fully stocked is a very shallow trick - style over substance..

 

A library that has only a few books is disappointing.

A library filled with cardboard imitations is insulting.

 

Presumably Saga are hoping that the majority of passengers are not interested enough in the library to object to a room full of fakes so they can save time and money by not stocking.

If Saga are not going to stock the library, then they should have the courage of their convictions and leave the shelves empty, or at least with items that do not pretend to be books.