[Sca-cooks] The Epulario / book-oids from poor microfilm files?
emilio szabo
emilio_szabo at yahoo.it
Sun Aug 8 15:07:25 PDT 2010
Johnnae, many thanks for the new input. I appreciate it. Please don't be/get
angry with me in case
my view differs in some minor aspects from yours in this respect.
<< Can one imagine Longleat allowing the 1500 Pynson to be rescanned and put up
online for free? >>
This is a special case. This is not a public library. The microfilm from this
copy is certainly one of the most lousiest in the EEBO collection.
And: there are certainly private owners of valuable manuscripts who make their
manuscripts available.
It is a question of how someone thinks about her/his relation to the "bien
public", to "cultural heritage", to her/his role in
ancestorship, etc.
<< Their new edition is due out. >>
I look forward to it!
<< Folger and the Huntington require
academic credentials and references in order to cross their doorways
and look at their materials. They have no incentive in making their
materials freely available. >>
Are these public libraries? I remember that one of the European libraries, that
is now at the forefront of digitalization, the Bavarian State Library (Munich),
was once very reluctant to provide pdf downloads.
The Wellcome Library, which would have all reason to be reluctant and elitist,
provides an interesting digitisation program.
The National Library of France, where you need the same kind of credentials in
order
to use their material in place, provides the huge gallica.bnf.fr site.
There are programs of this sort all around, you name it.
Libraries that "have no incentive in making their materials freely available"
will play no role
in the information infrastructure of the years to come.
(And they will learn their lesson, I assume.)
<< Folger is selling a limited edition of one
of their Commonplace Books right now for $750.00. Place it online for
free; surely you are joking. >>
One thing is producing a high price facsimile edition. I have no problem with
that.
And I have bought facsimile editions I could afford.
The other thing is providing open access for the things that are owned by a
commonwealth and the public libraries of this commonwealth in an age, where
the technique of facsimilation is not the only technique to make things
available.
<< The question is who pays for the bricks
mortar and staffing if everything is online. >>
Is there a library that pays for the bricks, mortar and staffing by publishing
facsimile editions?
Most of the libraries I know of are paid by public funds provided by tax payers.
I am not sure if buying the Epulario via Amazon will provide one library
with more money.
<< For all those who have cursed and lamented and screamed that they
don't have EEBO or access to the microfilms, well here's another
option folks. Spending $14.00 to buy the Epulario makes it so, so
easy! (...)
Get on Amazon -- Spend the money and it arrives in a couple days.
Easy! >>
You are right! I won't lament any more. In the current situation, the option is
good.
Nevertheless, I look forward to a still better future.
E.
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