Thread-topic: Old-Fashioned Definition of "Wrong" (was Mr. Smiley's lawyer)
And isn't part of the experience actually handling the materials
themselves? Even though you may be able to see the minute details on a
decorative binding on the web, seeing it in person allows one to
appreciate the item in context with the text itself.
Teri Osborn, MLS
Cataloguer, North American Imprints Program
American Antiquarian Society
185 Salisbury Street
Worcester, MA 01609
(508) 471-2147
A good rare book cataloger, like a good rare book dealer, is more a
historian than a librarian, more a scholar than a technocrat, and more
an independent critical thinker than a functionary bureaucrat. --
"Rare book catalogers and the Internet" Luft, E. Internet Reference
Services Quarterly; 1 (2) 1996, p.17-35.
-----Original Message-----
From: Exlibris [mailto:EXLIBRIS@MAIL.ECW.NAME] On Behalf Of s cheiner
Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2006 12:58 PM
To: EXLIBRIS@MAIL.ECW.NAME
Subject: Re: Old-Fashioned Definition of "Wrong" (was Mr. Smiley's
lawyer)
I am not sure mass digitization is so impossible if the international
library community is involved.
Gates/Google et al want to do this as a commercial venture. We already
have had list members give links to outstanding digital libraries that
are accessible on-line. The Gutenberg project has word processed the
texts of many books - some rare or scarce.
A complete, central registry of digitized books is a first step. Patrons
can be made to pay for the digitizing. When in the past I ordered
microfilm from the British Library I paid one fee if the book had
already been copied onto a master microfilm and a higher fee if it had
not.
The most fragile items can be digitized using a digital camera, which I
find much faster than scanning.
The question is, are libraries willing to do this, even if they receive
a royalty each time an item they digitized is used? Every journey
starts with a single step, and a single step by 100,000 libraries adds
up to a considerable distance.
C.J. Scheiner
--- Edward Levin <edwardlevin@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:
> Very few (if any) libraries have the financial resources to scan or
> microfiche all of their rare materials, if indeed this could even be
> done without risking damage to their more fragile materials.
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