Dear Mr. Rittner:
Thanks for the reply. I am curious to know which library "downloaded" that
collection, but if you'd rather not mention, that's fine. It won't burn a hole in
my psyche. My curiosity was only piqued because about a month ago, I first posted
a commentary on the absolute faith placed by many libraries in microfilming and
their subsequent dumping of literally tons of newspapers and other documents as a
result. What had irked me was that the state would provide no money for digitizing
collections, citing the "impermanence" of the media. But they were only to happy
to recommend my department's microfilming materials and trashing the originals.
Having previously been a museum director for 15 years, I know the fragility of
film. Actually, in the museum field, the saving of old film (any film) is a major
problem and countless hours have been dedicated to the topic. At any rate, whether
or not microforms of any kind last a century or a millennium is irrelevant to me.
What is relevant is whether to destroy the old records, and I come down on the
side of their preservation. There is an inherent value in the objects themselves.
At the moment, the very impermanence of electronic media is causing governments
and businesses to mandate hard copies of many electronically produced records. We
may someday see the means to eliminating that and whatever paper hs been produced
will become like papyrus.

Then again, maybe not. I'm still going to save those bound volumes.

Happy Thanksgiving,
Joe Cutshall-King
Washington County Historian



Don Rittner wrote:

> 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.
> >>>
> >

--
________________________________
Joseph A. Cutshall-King
Grant Writing/Fund Raising Services
  Associate of Charles R. Putney, Development Services for Nonprofits; Bennington,
VT

PO Box 154
693 County Route 49
Cossayuna, NY 12823

Tel.: 518-692-9505
E-mail: [log in to unmask]