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Re: Baker



My objection is to Baker's attack on librarians and archivists.  He has some
valid points regarding the need to keep as much original material as we can,
and I wouldn't limit it to newspaper as he does.  But he (in what I've read
here in the review and by those who defend his stance) does not consider the
real bureaucratic world that we all live in.  I my opinion he should be
attacking the city councils and boards and committee's who limit funding to
the institutions he's attacking, not the one's who are doing the best with a
bad situation.  Does he rail against those who divvy up the money to be
allocated?  No.  If he does it's not a major part of his argument according
to the review.

As for microfilming, how many of the poor mfilms he's refering to were done
50-60 years ago?  And how many of those originals were thrown out 45 years
ago?  At that time the only people interested in preservation of information
was the Government (of it's own info for it's own purposes, history was
secondary), museums, universities, and libraries.  Nothing was standard,
there was no SAA or ALA, and newspapers were often considered ephemeral.
Right or wrong, bad decisions were made, often by people who are no longer
around to deal with it.  What use is it attacking the people who have
inherited the problems and are doing the best they can?

I personally resent the image he paints of the Nazi Librarian joyfully
throwing out original copies.  I also resent the comparison to the same
image in Farenheit 451.  If he (and whoever stands with him) really wants to
help save the original documents (newsprint, among others) he would do
better to crusade for money so these institutions can support the necessary
care and preservation.  Perhaps he only cares about newspapers?  He seems to
ignore the many other, not insignificant, areas of historical documents
referred to by Geri Solomon and others.

I really could care less what kind of writer he is, or who he's written for.
If he thinks he's helping by attacking the very institutions who house and
preserve the materials he wants to save he is sadly mistaken and sorely
misguided.  Does the issue need to be raised?  Yes.  Are the librarians and
archivists the bad guys? NO!  If your looking for a bad guy go down to city
hall.  Everyone wants the best library, with all the amenities, and special
collections, online, and at their fingertips, but no-one wants to fund it.
THAT is the problem.

These are my opinions, of course, usual disclaimers and all.
Tom Anderson; Collections
American Museum of Science and Energy
tanderson@amse.org

"When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who
perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that
individual is crazy."
                        Dave Barry

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