This all brings back to mind a story I have heard repeated for the past 25 years. I believe it is true, but it has taken on some elements of a legend. There was apparently a large library (which shall remain nameless) which was disposing of bound volumes of Civil War era newspapers, as the process of microfilming moved forward. A citizen protested that these were just being thrown in the dumpster.

The management apparently misunderstood the nature of the protest and wrote back thanking the person for their input, and that the problem had been solved. The old newspapers were no longer being put in the dumpsters - they were now being shredded!

Often there are rules regulating disposal of collections that prevent the common sense thing from being legally done. Often it is the mechanical application of these rules across the board, instead of the examination of a situation by a thinking human being, that causes the unthinkable to happen.



>>> [log in to unmask] 11/21/00 12:00PM >>>
Well I'm not sure if I want to broadcast it :)  But will be happy to reply
to private email.
dr

> From: "Joseph A. Cutshall-King" <[log in to unmask]>
> Reply-To: "A LISTSERV list for discussions pertaining to New York State
> history." <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Mon, 20 Nov 2000 19:37:47 -0500
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Cross post from a hard-copy discarder...
>
> What library was that and when?
>
> Don Rittner wrote:
>
>> Highly commendable for asking since a local library here in the Capital
>> District decided it was appropriate to discard their entire 19th century
>> Harper's by placing them curbside for the weekly garbage pickup.
>> dr
>>
>>> From: [log in to unmask]
>>> Reply-To: "A LISTSERV list for discussions pertaining to New York State
>>> history." <[log in to unmask]>
>>> Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 12:58:56 EST
>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>> Subject: Cross post from a hard-copy discarder...
>>>
>>> Subj:    Available material
>>> Date:   11/16/2000 12:49:48 PM Eastern Standard Time
>>> From:   [log in to unmask] (Oliver Swift)
>>> Sender: [log in to unmask]
>>> Reply-to:   [log in to unmask]
>>> To: [log in to unmask] (Multiple recipients of list)
>>>
>>> The White Plains Public Library is discarding its bound volumes of the New
>>> York Times Book Review, 1896--1981. If any library is interested in
>>> receiving
>>> these, please contact Oliver Swift by e-mail or by calling (914) 422-1496.
>>>
>