[WEB4LIB] Re: Standby for Reverse Paradigm Shift

[Thomas Edelblute]

My biggest concern with digital collections is the concept I heard back in
Missouri that when the time is right, a digital document can be de-accessioned
from the collection.  That one put the librarians up in arms.

Dan Lester wrote:

> At 12:49 PM 8/29/99 -0700, Jan Lindquist wrote:
> >If you're preserving a rare book in a digital version, how do you preserve
> >the digital file? Ironically, the digital versions of books don't last long.
>
> That all depends.  If they're handled right, they last forever, unlike paper.
>
> >Paper documents, especially those made before the use of pulp (and the
> >introduction of acid), can remain in good condition for hundreds of years,
> >but a typical digital file on a CD-ROM might stay fully intact for only 30
> >years.
>
> That isn't a problem as long as it is copied to a newer (or the same)
> medium as necessary.
>
> >huge amounts of knowledge recorded in the late 20th century exist only in
> >digital form.
>
> That sounds like a good thing to me.
>
> >But skeptics claim that there won't be time or money to make sure all the
> >important data gets transferred - there's just too much of it.
>
> Well, then that may be a good thing.  That which is worth saving will be
> saved.  That which is not won't.  Van Gogh's paintings will continue to be
> saved and preserved.  Mine won't.  No great loss.
>
> The same is, and has always been, true of printed materials.  There are
> literally tons of books at LC that will self-destruct before they're
> de-acidified or otherwise copied or preserved.  They preserve the most
> valuable, those most worth keeping.
>
> >  He advocates a hybrid approach, combining digital versions (for easy
> > access), microfilm (for preservation - it's believed to last for hundreds
> > of years), and the original documents.
>
> Gee, sounds just like a library.
>
> dan
>
> --
> Good, Fast, and Cheap: Which two of the three would you like?
> Dan Lester, 3577 East Pecan, Boise, ID 83716 USA 208-383-0165
> dan at 84.com   http://www.84.com/  http://www.postcard.org/



--
Thomas Edelblute
Anaheim Public Library