[WEB4LIB] Re: Shirky (fwd) [LONG!]

[David Merchant]

>I'm not. In fact, given the value of this contributino, I don't
>understand why this doesn't make digitizing books seem more valuable.

I agree there is value to digitizing book, for sure!,  but more valuable 
than rare or one-of-a-kind text?  And again, in Billington's remarks, and 
in the Q and A session afterward, Billington is _hesitant_ out of a fear 
that if we go _too_ gung-ho on digitizing it would mean the end of the 
physical collection at the LoC (not saying that you are too gung-ho, but we 
just can't assume either on something this important).  I cannot emphasize 
that enough.  That is a concern that needs to be addressed, even if it 
seems silly, it still needs to be addressed with dialogue, reassurances 
need to be included in the arguments of those that are pro-digitizing as 
many books as possible that digitizing does not mean the end of support for 
a maintaining and adding to the physical LoC collection.  Also, Billington 
seems to state that Libraries as a physical place is important for 
communities as a communal place, and digitizing does not support that. That 
needs to be addressed too. The Internet _is_ affecting culture, society, 
communities, etc, etc.  As the head of the very large National Library, 
Billington is being responsible by thinking about the negative or 
not-so-positive effects, implications, and ramifications digitizing of LoC 
holdings could have.  It's a bit of a balancing act, to be sure.

>This I think, is a big part of the Billington speech. His written
>remarks were quite temperate, but his spoken remarks, in response to
>questions, were altogether testier, and seemed to make the same
>calculation that many are making here, which is that digitized books
>threaten to de-legitimize libraries in the minds of many.

And many librarians have seen, heard and read not so temperate and even 
testy remarks made against their desires to not be so head-long into the 
rush onto the Internet. It's not that librarians are against the Internet, 
we just express some caution, which we feel it is reasonable to do, and 
when we do, we get pegged as anti-technology.

>Here we disagree, on two fronts:
>
>First, the net now reaches a majority of adults in the US,

In the US, yes.  But in other countries that number is in the single digits.

>and that
>number is till growing.

Yes!  Glad it is too.

>Arguments about the lucky few are harder to
>sustain when that few is in the majority.

But that few is not in the majority yet, especially globally (especially 
globally).  With most public libraries having Internet access (see, we're 
not anti-net!) in the US, most adults, I agree, have access (if they 
physically can get to the library).  But access in the home in the US, is 
still not a majority -- yet.


>Furthermore, the cost of
>reaching additional readers via the net is plummeting, even as the
>cost of building new libraries or increasing collection size is
>growing. For this reason alone, I still disagree wiht Billington's
>caution, because it seems to me he should be leading this, not
>following. (You, I know, feel that his conservative position is a good
>attribute. I don't think there is an answer here -- I just wanted to
>clarify our disagreement.)

No probl, clarification is good. But I still think you are still misreading 
a bit what Billingtons caution is.

>Second, the new does not displace the old, as you said. There are
>people who can get material on the net which they can't get at their
>local library.

And that material that they can't get at their local library is usually the 
rare stuff that can't be gotten by interlibrary loan, which is exactly what 
the LoC is putting up/ digitizing. Interlibrary loan is great stuff, 
there's many an item I couldn't get at my local library but was able to get 
via ILL.

> > So, call for Billington's resignation? Bit harsh for the
> > circumstances.
>
>Fair enough. I apologize for my intemperance.

Gotta run, thus the truncated reply, but I have my own bouts of 
intemperance, we all do!

TTFN,
David
Head, Systems Department, Louisiana Tech University
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