Double Fold Libraries and the Assault on Paper
, by BAKER, NICHOLSONNote: Supplemental materials are not guaranteed with Rental or Used book purchases.
- ISBN: 9780375726217 | 0375726217
- Cover: Paperback
- Copyright: 4/9/2002
The ostensible purpose of a library is to preserve the printed word. But for fifty years our country's librariesincluding the Library of Congresshave been doing just the opposite, destroying hundreds of thousands of historic newspapers and replacing them with microfilm copies that are difficult to read, lack all the color and quality of the original paper and illustrations, and deteriorate with age. With meticulous detective work and Baker's well-known explanatory power,Double Foldreveals a secret history of microfilm lobbyists, former CIA agents, and warehouses where priceless archives are destroyed with a machine called a guillotine. Baker argues passionately for preservation, even cashing in his own retirement account to save one important archiveall twenty tons of it. Written the brilliant narrative style that Nicholson Baker fans have come to expect,Double Foldis a persuasive and often devastating book that may turn out to beThe Jungleof the American library system.