Paperless Libraries

[Larry Schwartz]

At 02:30 PM 10/30/97 -0800, Sharon Centanne wrote:
>The closest thing I have seen to a "paperless" library wasn't even digital!
>It was a branch of the Mormon's Family History Center Genealogy 
>Library.  Thousands and thousands of archival documents and text files
>were all on mircofilm and mircofiche.  The library only contained about
>100 books and a few notebooks of printouts listing available mircorforms.
>Gradually these libraries are adding cdrom collections of genealogy databases,
>but I am waiting for the day when all the world's archives will scan all the
>old handwritng records and make them available on the net! <g>
>
>Sharon Centanne
>Genealogist, Internet Trainer and Media Specialist
>
>
>
golly, so am i.  imagine the impact this will have on the offshore scanning
industry!  pretty soon, we'll have forgotten all about the problems at the
nike and reebok sweatshops; we'll be reading about the execs from ISI and
UMI being hauled before house and senate committees, trying to explain why
they're charging thousands of dollars for access to their databases when
they're only paying cents to the folks who'll be slapping down page after
page after page after page on the scanners.

hey, come to think of it, aren't they charging thousands of dollars now for
access?  imagine what they'll be charging in the future so the paperless
libraries can access this information?  ls.

****************************************************************************
larry schwartz,  humanities librarian           a perfectly normal person is
north dakota state university                    rare in our civilization.
p. o. box 5599                                      --Karen Horney
fargo, nd  58105-5599
701-231-9651
701-231-7138 (fax)
web presence:  http://www.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/hum.html