Download Ebook Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper, by Nicholson Baker
In fitting the new upgraded book launched, we come to you. We are the on-line site that constantly supplies a very great means, terrific term, and fantastic listings of the collections books from many nations. Book as a fashion to spread the information as well as details concerning the life, social, scientific researches, faiths, several others holds a very important policy. Publication may not as the style when they are out of date, they will work as absolutely nothing.
Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper, by Nicholson Baker
Download Ebook Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper, by Nicholson Baker
Just what's title of guide to remember always in your mind? Is this the Double Fold: Libraries And The Assault On Paper, By Nicholson Baker Well, we will ask you, have you read it? When you have read this book, just what do you assume? Can you inform others about exactly what type of book is this? That's right, that's so fantastic. Well, for you, do you have not review yet this publication? Don't bother, you have to get the experience and lesson as the others that have actually reviewed it. And currently, we supply it for you.
To fulfil the people necessity about obtaining the book, we provide this site to go to. Not just to go to, can you additionally be the participant of this site to obtain the brand-new updated book every day. As below, we will certainly offer to you as the very best Double Fold: Libraries And The Assault On Paper, By Nicholson Baker today. It is very intriguing to expose that many people enjoy reading. It indicates that the requirements of guides will certainly enhance. Yet, how is about you? Are you still spirit to complete your reading?
This book will be always most desired because the topic to climb is preferred. Besides, it features the subject for each age and condition. All levels of individuals are welcomed extremely well to read this book. The breakthrough of this book is that you might not have to really feel difficult to understand just what this book deal. The lesson, knowledge, experience, and all things that might offer will certainly need your life time to feel far better.
Consequently, you could take Double Fold: Libraries And The Assault On Paper, By Nicholson Baker as one of your reading materials today. Even you still have the various other publication; you could establish your desire to truly get this significant book. It will always give benefits from some sides. Reading this sort of publication also will certainly direct you to have even more experiences that have not.
Review
“Got me, as he intended, hopping mad. Bless his obsessive-compulsive heart.”–David Gates, The New York Times Book Review“There’s no mistaking the passion and intelligence he brings to his task or the fiery zest with which he relays his most damning anecdotes.” –Chicago Tribune “Provocative . . . impassioned and compelling.” –Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times “A magnificent crusade and he tells its story with a novelist’s flair. . . . This book is a thumping indictment of America’s great libraries. They have much to answer for” –Chicago Sun-Times
Read more
From the Inside Flap
The ostensible purpose of a library is to preserve the printed word. But for fifty years our country's libraries-including the Library of Congress-have been doing just the opposite, destroying hundreds of thousands of historic newspapers and replacing them with microfilm copies that are difficult to read, lack all the color and quality of the original paper and illustrations, and deteriorate with age. With meticulous detective work and Baker's well-known explanatory power, Double Fold reveals a secret history of microfilm lobbyists, former CIA agents, and warehouses where priceless archives are destroyed with a machine called a guillotine. Baker argues passionately for preservation, even cashing in his own retirement account to save one important archive-all twenty tons of it. Written the brilliant narrative style that Nicholson Baker fans have come to expect, Double Fold is a persuasive and often devastating book that may turn out to be "The Jungle of the American library system.
Read more
See all Editorial Reviews
Product details
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (April 9, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0375726217
ISBN-13: 978-0375726217
Product Dimensions:
5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
3.7 out of 5 stars
36 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#257,834 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
First, the author does seem to ramble and wander, and I think this would have been a much better book at half or even one-third its length. There's a lot of detail here, really far more than necessary and scattered too widely across the many chapters.The author is angry that libraries are rushing to dispose of vast collections of books and newspapers, replacing them with less complete, less legible microfilm and microfiche, and to some extent, with digital copies with laughable OCR (optical character recognition).The 2001 book can't reflect the massive change that has followed, including Google's insatiable consumption of old books, nor the awesome improvements in OCR combined with the human-powered optimization of OCR via the "Captcha/ReCaptcha" systems.The latter half of the book identifies a collection of villains who aren't thoroughly unmasked: vendors who pushed libraries into paying for microfilm and microfiche conversions that were far less perfect (yet no less destructive) than promised, technologists who proposed absurdly impractical concepts like chemically "de-acidifying" books, and fund-raisers whose scare tactics overstated the problem of "brittle books."But the primary villains seem to be the library administrators who have been so quick to abandon print copies in favor of microform, and so reckless in under-estimating the shelf life of paper, and over-estimating the cost of retaining print works. And not incidentally, administrators who often preferred to see abandoned books destroyed rather than turned over to preservationists.Of course, what the author could not identify were specific works (books, pamphlets, magazines, newspapers, maps) which have, in fact been "lost forever," nor an impartial estimate of what we may have lost, since there remain collections and scraps of collections. This is perhaps the saddest thing: we will likely never know exactly what we've lost, just as we cannot appreciate the quality of illustrations and photos lost to the high-contrast microfilm process.
As a consultant working for a software company who performs the kind of digital archiving service described (attacked?) in this book, I was probably reading this with a slightly jaundiced eye. I think Baker glosses over some very real issues of how these resources are used and probably underestimates the real cost of physical versus digital/microfilm archiving, but I'm also not sure that these issues make up the real point of the book.I found it a *very* illuminating read and it made some really excellent points about how useful it is to carry projects without a clear sense of goal and direction. I thought his concerns about the privatisation of historical archive are very valid. I couldn't help but share his concerns about destruction in order to preserve. Moreover, the book is remarkably readable and occasionally very entertaining (the virgin mummy section, for example).I'll be giving this one away as a Christmas gift to more than a few poeple on my gift list.
You just have to read this book to appreciate the extent of effort and research devoted to it: It is a shocking indictment of our techno-grandiosity and disregard for the past... There are things in there that litterally defy belief, like the millions of dollards invested in the use of a catastrophic explosive substance (too scary for even the Army to use -it burns or explodes in contact with water or air-) to deacidify books, a non-existent problem for which no real examples of "falling to dust" have ever surfaced... More generally, the extent to which our age is a book-destroying age, in the pretense of preserving them, is fully exposed... A compelling indictment of human and technocratic folly.
As a longtime newspaper researcher, I was already well aware of the problems of converting library materials to microfilm, but this book lays out the whole story in horrifying detail. If you care about history, the value of a complete and unadulterated historical record, or even just the intrinsic value of the materials being destroyed, this book will make you very angry. We trusted our country's record of history to the libraries and they casually threw most of it into the nearest convenient trashcan.Baker's indictment reveals the extent of the loss, the foolish assumptions that led to it, and the military (!) bureaucrats who led the campaign. It is a terribly sad story but one that must be told and learned from if we are to avoid further losses. If you know a librarian, buy them a copy of the book, too (I can't imagine many libraries will put this book on the shelves!).My only quibble with the book, and it's a small one, is that Baker has missed two important points:1 - the microfilm companies are holding our nation's history hostage; by charging hundreds of thousands of dollars for a run of one newspaper on microfilm they are effectively keeping it out of the hands of libraries and, thus, researchers. If one of the reasons for the mass switch to microfilm was to cut costs, why didn't the libraries dictate terms to the microfilm companies when they started cutting up those precious bound volumes? Many libraries can't even afford to stock the microfilm of their hometown papers!2 - because microfilm is so expensive, the stated problem of accessibility was not solved. One reason to photograph everything was so that researchers could have improved access to materials. In fact, the opposite has happened. Few libraries own microfilm, and those that do are unwilling to do inter-library loans. Thus, the researcher has to travel to the libraries to do their research or hire local researchers (a cottage industry these days).No matter - Baker's passionate indictment hits plenty of high points; more than enough to convert most anyone (except perhaps the librarians who were duped for so long that they can't conceive of changing their positions).I also salute Nicholson Baker for putting his money where his mouth is. His purchase of a good portion of the British Library's American newspaper archives (yes, even in 2000 the libraries are still gleefully disposing of paper) is excellent news. I only wish I'd known about the sale at the time - I would have gladly participated. However, the libraries know darn well that their actions are a public relations nightmare, so they keep these mass disposals very quiet.Buy this book! Loan it to friends! Get the word out!
Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper, by Nicholson Baker PDF
Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper, by Nicholson Baker EPub
Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper, by Nicholson Baker Doc
Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper, by Nicholson Baker iBooks
Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper, by Nicholson Baker rtf
Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper, by Nicholson Baker Mobipocket
Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper, by Nicholson Baker Kindle
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar