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| Religion Forum Index » Wicca Forum » BOOK REVIEW - The Great Digitization... |
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| Mike... |
 Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 4:54 am |
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The Great Digitization and the Quest to Know Everything by Lucien X.
Polastron © 2009 Inner Traditions ISBN: 979-1-59477-243-6 192
pages Paperback $16.95 (U.S.) www.InnerTraditions.com
The translator of this volume (originally published in French © 2006
by Editions Denoel) acknowledges that the chances are good that this
book will be obsolete by the time it hits the shelves. Jon E. Graham
has translated an earlier book by this same author (Books on Fire). I
have found his translations to be easy to read.
M. Polastron examines, in depth, the rationale for digitized books;
the reasons for opposition to the idea; the benefits to be derived
from such digitization; and the progress, or lack thereof, in
attaining the goals. How does this affect the Pagan community? Well,
depending on you attitude towards the availability of research (both
pre-Gardnerian and modern) this cold be seen as an immense benefit.
How many times have you seen a reference to some out-of-print work,
and wished you could check the reference for yourself? A virtual
library would make that far easier (and less expensive) to do – even
if you have to pay for your access.
As we approach the idea of digitized, virtual libraries we see the
rapid growth in hand-held technology which allows an individual to
access books on-line almost anywhere in the Western (and many parts of
the eastern) world. On the other hand, someone must pay to put those
books on-line, as well as verifying the accuracy of the texts. Add to
that the bewildering interpretations of copyright around the globe,
mix in the declining use of brick and mortar libraries, throw in a
dash of vandalism against physical libraries (all too seldom reported
in the world press), and the rapid obsolescence of the technologies in
use, and you have a recipe for a disaster. There are no easy
solutions, whether you are looking for access to the writing of Plato,
or of J. K. Rowling.
Pagans have an additional set of problems, in that interest in the
written underpinnings of our belief system are extremely specialized –
scholars looking far back – or very general – current “authorities”
expounding their often unsubstantiated beliefs. In the Western world,
we represent a tiny fraction of total readers, so our ability to
support on-line availability of texts is negligible.
Decisions about what books are to be digitized are made on the basis
of several factors, not least of which are matters of prestige,
availability of original sources material;, and the legal
repercussions. Such decisions are often made by bureaucrats who have
little true understanding the issues involved.
In the chapter “An All-Horizon Inventory”, M. Polastron provides a
listing of more than 30 websites devoted to the digitizing of books
(not all of which, unfortunately, are currently active, and some of
which are only available in non-English formats). Or, for simple ease
of navigation you can access the same information at www.polastron.com/notesLGN.html
.. Before going there, however, you really should read this book to
get an understanding of what is involved in making the information on
those sites available.
Personally, I like the feel of a printed book in my hands and always
will (plus, I have the advantage of not needing to worry about
changing technologies. As long as my eyes and brain work, I can
access the information). However, for sheer portability and amount of
information accessible, it is obvious that on-line sources are the
wave of the future. Unlike King Canute the Great, I know better than
to oppose the tide.
Take the time to read this book. Then make the time to talk with your
local, state, and regional librarians to find out what the plans are
for making materials available for digitizing. Be involved. |
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| Sacharissa... |
| Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 12:53 pm |
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Whether or not it's obsolete by the time it hits the shelves it seems
like this would be something well worth the time to read. Thanks for
the review, I'll definitely be checking this out. |
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