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Re: RARA-AVIS: The Glass Key
James Stephenson wrote:
>
> James Mountain reacts to my lament about hyperinflated book prices--
>
> > Well, justification hey??? How about: THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE WILL PAY!!!
> > Is that good enough?
> >
>
> If it were only that simple. Public institutions like a university
> research library must answer to the demands of faculty, students, and
> the general public, all of whom demand (rightly) that we collect
> material necessary for their studies. Rare books and special
> collections departments are held hostage by dealers who justify their
> outrageous prices with just such "arguements" as James'. A private
> collector can "just say no" to high prices; a library doesn't always
> have that luxury.
> --
> James Stephenson
> Rare Books & Special Collections Cataloger
> University of Maryland at College Park
> Email: js272@umail.umd.edu
> -
There is something ABSOLUTELY out-of-order in that debate. The General
Public want BOOKS, it want TEXTS. The rare-book thing is a constipated
trip, and, from a freudian point-de-vue, anal phase hooked. I don't see
the point of discussing prices of books in RARA-AVIS. When I can put my
hand on any second-hand book of a TEXT I did not previously read, I do.
And IT MUST BE CHEAP. Focusing on old and rare books is a way of
evading the fact that you are no more able to focus on the text. So
fuck the collectors and the dealers, and please LET'S READ !
-
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