Double Fold Libraries and the Assault on Paper

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.

Nicholson Baker has published five novels–The Mezzanine, Room Temperature, Vox, The Fermata, and The Everlasting Story of Nory–and two works of nonfiction, U and I and The Size of Thoughts. He lives with his wife and two children in Maine.

Preface
Overseas Disposal	p. 3
Original Keepsakes	p. 12
Destroying to Preserve	p. 22
It Can Be Brutal	p. 37
The Ace Comb Effect	p. 47
Virgin Mummies	p. 54
Already Worthless	p. 65
A Chance to Begin Again	p. 73
Dingy, Dreary, Dog-eared, and Dead	p. 82
The Preservation Microfilming Office	p. 97
Thugs and Pansies	p. 106
Really Wicked Stuff	p. 111
Getting the Champagne out of the Bottle	p. 118
Bursting at the Seams	p. 136
The Road to Avernus	p. 141
It's Not Working Out	p. 148
Double Fold	p. 152
A New Test	p. 158
Great Magnitude	p. 162
Special Offer	p. 168
3.3 Million Books, 358 Million Dollars	p. 174
Six Thousand Bodies a Day	p. 178
Burning Up	p. 184
Going, Going, Gone	p. 190
Absolute Nonsense	p. 198
Drumbeat	p. 203
Unparalleled Crisis	p. 207
Microfix	p. 213
Slash and Burn	p. 216
A Swifter Conflagration	p. 222
Crunch	p. 227
A Figure We Did Not Collect	p. 230
Leaf Masters	p. 234
Turn the Pages Once	p. 240
Suibtermanean Convumision	p. 249
Honest Disagreement	p. 254
We Just Kind of Keep Track	p. 259
In Good Faith	p. 263
Epilogue	p. 270
Notes	p. 271
References	p. 335
Index	p. 354
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

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Double Fold Libraries and the Assault on Paper

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Table of Contents

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