tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post6041992830758228975..comments2024-03-28T04:26:30.557-05:00Comments on Boston 1775: Harbottle Dorr’s Old Newspapers for SaleUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-21908975462756012782011-08-22T20:29:21.564-05:002011-08-22T20:29:21.564-05:00Why suggest conspiracy, Timoteo, when simple econo...Why suggest conspiracy, Timoteo, when simple economics offers an answer? It costs a lot of money to digitize hundreds of large pages, especially if the sources are either (a) large bound volumes or (b) old microfilm. <br /><br />The market for such material is relatively small. Readex and other companies digitizing print materials from this period target big research libraries that can pay big fees. Individual researchers have to hope they can find easy access somehow.<br /><br />An alternative is public funding, if the public agrees the material is important. However, the federal agency created to fund these sorts of efforts by historical societies and local governments, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, has had large budget cuts over the past two years, and some members of Congress want to close it down entirely.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-56617479274417077082011-08-22T17:13:18.120-05:002011-08-22T17:13:18.120-05:00J.L. was the first person I thought of when I read...J.L. was the first person I thought of when I read this in Sunday's Globe. Have you thought of a second mortgage on your house, John?<br /><br />In reply to Timoteo, it was probably microfilmed years (decades?) ago. When analogue microfilmed images are converted to digital and posted on the web, they look horrible and often barely readable. So it will need to be professionally digitally scanned. Massachusetts Historical Society has an active scanning program, but also millions of pages of documents that are worthy of scanning. (Are any readers of this blog willing to make a grant to MHS, to finance scanning this particular collection?) Given what we've heard of the Bangor Historical Society's finances, I doubt they have the money to pay for the scanning.<br /><br />I only hope that the volume is bought by a reputable historical society that will keep it intact, and not by a dealer who plans to cut it up and sell the pieces.Charles Bahnenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-79258491697883137802011-08-22T12:32:04.172-05:002011-08-22T12:32:04.172-05:00"His entire newspaper collection has already ..."His entire newspaper collection has already been collected on one set of microfilm for researchers"<br /><br />Why aren't these and other important primary sources available via CD-ROM or DVD? Or better yet: on the internet?<br /><br />Is it a conspiracy amongst archivists and historical societies to justify their existence?Timoteonoreply@blogger.com