Someone must have declared open season on National Digital Library visions, because just in the past two months we’re swimming in them. Last month Robert Darnton, a historian who leads the Harvard University Library, gathered some people together for an “off-the-record” meeting during which such a vision was discussed. A follow-up piece in the New York Review of Books spelled it out for the rest of us, although it lacked any substantive descriptions about how such a thing might come about.
Not to be outdone, David Rothman of TeleRead fame published his own call for a National Digital Library System in The Atlantic just a scant month later. As he points out, calls for a national digital library are neither few nor new. However, the widespread digitization of books by Google and a pending settlement with the publishers has moved this idea back into the forefront as we all wonder what will become of the public good if Google is in league with the publishers to control access to our cultural heritage.
As short on details as they both were, they seem to identify quite different paths to get to a similar place. Darnton appeared to advocate that existing digital initiatives could be built upon, with additional foundation support, perhaps by providing an administrative structure around a geographically dispersed set of activities. Think of a vastly expanded Hathi Trust kind of organization (here I may be straying from the path Darnton is espousing, although since precious few details are yet revealed perhaps I could be forgiven).
Rothman, in contrast, not only dubs his idea an “information stimulus proposal“, but pegs the sum of 5 billion dollars annually “in the early years for the library system and related costs such as preparation for teachers and librarians, with the possibility of expansion from there.” Given the present climate in Washington, one must wonder what kind of legs a brand-new funding program of that scale will have.
Visions of the kind of world Darnton, Rothman, and nearly all the rest of us want are not new. Rothman cites Vannevar Bush’s seminal “As We May Think” article as a logical precedent — also published, as it happens, in the The Atlantic some 65 years previously. Visions we have, in spades. Now we need to figure out the strategy and the tactics.
No related posts.
Do you know anything more about the “gathered some people together for an “off-the-record” meeting during which such a vision was discussed” bit?
Also see Paul Courant’s blog post in response to Darnton’s NYRB piece and meeting: http://bit.ly/ayIKVA. Courant writes that “just such a collection is being collated by the growing partnership that is HathiTrust”, argues that HathiTrust already has permissions from Google Darnton claimed were still an obstacle, and points instead to copyright blocks on “the unfettered circulation of in-copyright digital material” as the real central problem to be overcome.
There’s an account of it here — might be gated: http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/one-step-closer-to-a-national-digital-library/27491
Useful post, Roy. Thanks very very much.
I share Ed Summers’ curiosity and perhaps frustration. The national digital library cause needs open discussions online–and ALA-sponsored meetings in the real world–as opposed to private meetings convened by the elite.
For Computerworld, an MIT Press/ASIS info-sci collection, the Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report, TheAtlantic.com Web site, TeleRead and other public forums, I have written thousands of words on digital libraries, with far, far more specifics than Prof. Darnton has shared with the world. I’ve learned plenty from the feedback that the secretive approach leaves out.
But I certainly don’t have all the how-to’s at my fingertips and I’d encourage others to pitch in, with an opportunity for everyone to comment on the suggestions to get at the truth. Time for an ALA wiki or forum open to all?
At the same time, yes, we need real-world action, not just discussion!
Notice (from the end of the library-specific TheAtlantic.com piece) that I’m trying to convince the ALA to take a stand and crank up a lobbying campaign? And that I consulted informally with the ALA Washington office? (Thanks, Carrie!)
The wiki or forum could cover political strategies. Remember, more than a few conservatives love their gadgets. William F. Buckley Jr. did and wrote two columns in favor of my basic library idea.
Also keep in mind that the information stimulus plan would have the long-term effect of reducing bureaucracy and paperwork in areas ranging from taxes to healthcare–one reason WFB was sympathetic. It would also make it easier for people to question iffy medical charges and better track their finances. That is in line with conservatives and libertarians’ interest in individual responsibility. I would also point out that Andrew Carnegie was hardly a socialist and yet built public libraries that on an ongoing basis were publicly funded. Used well, libraries can be the ultimate tools for self-improvement–the antithesis of welfare handouts.
By intelligently appealing to people of all ideologies with a focus on the economic benefits of libraries and educating conservatives about information stimulus, I believe we could see the national digital library library plan become a reality even in the current political environment. My vision, positioning libraries in new ways as not only spreaders of knowledge but also a means to upgrade the workforce through e-books and multimedia, could appeal to the enlightened self interest of the manufacturing sectors and others. ALA needs to reach out to friends like AARP and NEA, but it should also woo organizations such as the National Association of Manufacturers.
Thanks again,
David
davidrothman@pobox.com
703-370-6540
The infostim plan on TheAtlantic.com site:
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/06/guest-post-david-rothman-on-the-ipad-stimulus-plan/58539/
The library plan on the site:
http://www.theatlantic.com/personal/archive/2010/11/why-we-cant-afford-not-to-create-a-well-stocked-national-digital-library-system/66111/
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