I consider myself properly scolded by Mr. Pollack. But I still think
(selfishly?) that as a researcher, having to use a surrogate is anathema.
Donald Farren
4009 Bradley Lane
Chevy Chase, MD 20815-5238
dfarren@concentric.net
voice 301.951.9479
fax 301.951.3898
mobile 301.768.8972
-----Original Message-----
From: Exlibris [mailto:EXLIBRIS@MAIL.ECW.NAME] On Behalf Of Edward Pollack
Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2006 9:41 PM
To: EXLIBRIS@MAIL.ECW.NAME
Subject: Re: Need for Originals
Donald Farren wrote:
"I'm with Eric. As a researcher (albeit mainly bibliographical), having to
use a surrogate is anathema. I'm surprised that booksellers are advocating
the use of surrogates. Of course their stance is high-minded, but are they
planning to abandon selling the real thing in favor of scanning (plenty of
which, regrettably, I am offered on ABE)."
I'm assuming that I am the bookseller to whom you refer as "advocating
the use of surrogates." May I ask that you re-read what I wrote and see if
you still think that's what I said. Here, in pertinent part, it is again:
"...could not these rare materials be scanned or microfiched for use in
research related to content (e.g., checking a citation), so that the
materials would not need to be handled except for research which related to
the physical object. I don't know, but it would seem that this would
considerably reduce the numbers of people handling these collections
physically, and thus make tighter security easier and more efficient when
the actual object needs to be handled by the researcher."
My point, which sparked some heady philosophical discussions around issues
of "texte" and "chose," etc., was that it may not always be essential to the
research to handle the physical object. Recall that the writer to whose
posting my reply was in answer, said he had gone to the particular rare book
collection to "check a citation," and was held up by inordinate security
inspections.
Obviously, as a bookseller, I appreciate the benefits of actually handling
material, and nothing in what I said implied otherwise.
Ed Pollack
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