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Re: RARA-AVIS: The Glass Key
>From Jmes Stephenson:
> 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
I would add as well that I wonder what "justification" private
collectors have for paying gobs of money for recent books. The
argument in favor of authors whose importance has been tested by time
is compelling, but for relatively new authors? In my own collection,
I have Dunning's BOOKED TO DIE, the 1st 3 Paretsky's, the 1st 2
Cornwell's and so on, but I got them as book reviewer for the local
newspaper. I don't think they're worth the current market
prices--and won't be until time has told us whether those books and
those authors are important.
I sometimes think that dealers sell to each other!
Doug
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