Rating: 
Summary: From A Librarian's Perspective
Review: To get a balanced view of librarianship and conservation after you read this book, take a look at this website: http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/jun01/voice.htm. It will give you an idea of where librarians, who are the professionals (and scholars and readers, thank you), are coming from. Yes, Baker has researched his topic well. But, it's difficult to understand the logic behind all libraries' struggle with preservation vs. dissemination of information without actually having the master's of library science and working every day in a public or research library environment. Don't make a judgement call on the profession of librarianship without making an effort to comprehend the reasons why most libraries can't possibly retain every bit of newspaper or books that are housed in the stacks.
Rating: 
Summary: A Writer with Passion
Review: When I think about writers, Nicholson Baker is one who is difficult for me to categorize. I enjoy his novels quite a lot (such as Vox and Fermata). They are unique and clever which is something I really appreciate; however, I'm not sure I read them because I really like the stories. Instead, I read them because Baker is a writer whose talent jumps out at me from the page. His writing is beautifully constructed and his passion about his ideas and characters is clear in his dynamic style. Whether or not you like his stories or his thoughts is secondary--he makes you feel something when you read him. I love the jolt of energy I get and I love the way my mind churns when I read something of Baker's.I certainly got a jolt of energy from Double Fold. In it, Baker describes the destruction of the physical content of many of our nation's libraries in an effort to conserve space. Volumes of old newspapers and countless "brittle" books have had their contents transferred to microfilm. Supporters of this process claim this is necessary to save the intellectual content of paper products that are literally crumbling away. Baker argues, however, that, in most cases, this imminent loss of old books and newspapers is hype. Paper products such as books and newspapers have a longer life than is usually assumed and the "tests" of their strength (such as the test that gives this book its title) are often arbitrary and poorly designed. Baker also points out the loss of quality that often accompanies the transfer to microfilm. If the effort truly is to save intellectual content, then that effort is often a failure. Many volumes of newsprint that was to be transferred to microfilm never made it and many volumes more are so poorly filmed as to be illegible. Additionally, as the film ages, the quality is reduced even more rapidly than an equivalent aging in the original paper. Many films that were once readable are quickly becoming garbage. With no originals from which to replace the film. Here is where Baker's argument really struck home with me. When these "delicate" paper products are reduced to film, the original books and newspapers are destroyed. Not only are they sliced and diced during filming to make that process easier, the remains are thrown out. I never dreamed that when I sat at my hometown public library and scanned through old issues of the Quincy Herald-Whig and its predecessors on microfilm, that, somewhere, the old, physical, paper issues weren't still around. Maybe Quincy is lucky and someone has saved the old volumes somewhere but it seems unlikely. In my mind, that is a sad loss. I guess this is why this particular book of Baker's moved me more than anything else he's written so far. In this particular passion, I am on Baker's side. I love books and newspapers. Not just their intellectual content but the objects themselves. I live in an apartment surrounded by thousands of books and newspapers, many of which are very old and in great shape. And, you know what? If I could get them all magically transferred to microfilm or CDROM and be guaranteed that all of their intellectual content could be saved, I wouldn't do it. There is a quality to the object itself that has value and is worth saving. I am a book collector. While I was reading this book a friend of mine saw me and asked what the book is about. When I told her she said, "A whole book about that?" Yes. If you have any interest in books, newspapers or libraries, I suggest strongly that you read this book. It is well-written, passionate and, though there is no question where Baker's sympathies lie, he presents both sides of the story. You will learn a lot and, if you are anything like me, wish you had Baker's passion and resources to start a non-for-profit company and buy up some of these things to save them from destruction. It is a worthy passion.
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