San Francisco Main Public Library

Much ballyhoo has been made over the Main Library in recent years.  Yes, books remain a surprising commodity in this post-modern bastion of endless space and strange divisions.  True, computers have managed to manifest themselves and anger true bibliophiles, living up to the wishes of Newt "I would like to see computers replace all textbooks in five years" Gingrich.

But it's still not that bad of a resource, even when most of the interesting and obscure books are hidden behind a paging desk.

For a world-class city, San Francisco's main library seems to be lacking in certain respects and its collection of periodicals on microfilm and microfiche leave a good deal to be desired.

But it also boasts an impressive collection of foreign films on video -- many of which you will not find at your local video store.  Just about all of Sergei Eisenstein, a good deal of Truffaut and Godard, some Buñuel and Bergman, and intriguing documentaries are all there for your checkout.  And instead of paying $3 or more a pop, you don't have to pay a penny (unless, of course, you fall victim to overdue fees).

In an expensive city such as ours, this ability to acquaint yourself so readily with these titles for free is both an intriguing and melancholy prospect.  Son, I'm afraid our one copy of Baldwin's Giovanni's Son is checked out but, hey, if you're up for a video, well then, sir, we can help you out.

There is, however, one truly odd characteristic of these videos.  Often, when letting a video play through the credits, you will be surprised to find an odd video clip of Tai Chi exercise follow the movie.  Not limited to a genre or type of video, this strange clip has been inserted at the end of many a movie.  There has been much speculation on this odd image.  Is the library pirating their videos or getting them from a dubious source?

Posthoc recently learned that the Tai Chi clip is the product of extraordinary enthusiasm from either one  individual or group of individuals.  Financially strapped and dealing with the reality of high video circulation, the library seems unable to point their finger precisely at the perpetrator.  The library, however, has reported to us that this occurrence has been repeated on many videos for the last year and that they believe that this odd form of protest is "probably due to the war." However, many videos have been discarded because the Tai Chi aficionado has had the tenacity to stick the clip in the middle of many videos.  The number of videos affected was not revealed to our sensitive ears.

But it seems oddly ironic that someone is using Eastern meditation exercise to make an assault on this wave of technology.  A minor monkey wrench being thrown into the great machine, one can only speculate the cost or true purpose behind this odd act of civil disobedience. 

Edward Champion

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