Readings 11/20

Double Fold by Nicholson Baker

Baker as a writer of fiction makes an emotional case for saving the original documents. He brings to the table a great deal of force and sense of gravitas to this discussion. Are these newspapers all possible to save though? There are multiple factors that come into play when trying to save materials. One is space. Often libraries are strapped for space as it is. Where would all these accumulating materials be stored? Another factor is funds. Libraries need money to pay the costs of organizing, sorting, shelving and upkeep of newspaper sources. With libraries’ continuous struggle for funds, how easy will it be to get more money for something like this? A way must be found to preserve these records in a quality contextual way for a long time. The main problem here is the problem of impermanence. Everything deteriorates and changes in a continuous cycle. There is nothing that is going to be around for ever. As humans though, we take it on as our job to make our own great works persist for future generations to enjoy.