Libraries have
catered to users' reference needs in reference centres for
centuries (and, lately, through Selective Dissemination of
Information, or SDI). The war is by no means decided.
"Progress" may yet consist of the assimilation of hi-tech
gadgets by lo-tech libraries. It may turn out to be
convergence at its best, as librarians become computer savvy -
and computer types create knowledge and disseminate it.
A Brief History of the Book
By: Sam Vaknin
"The free communication of thought and opinion is one of the
most precious rights of man; every citizen may therefore
speak, write and print freely."
(French National Assembly, 1789)
I. What is a Book?
UNESCO's arbitrary and ungrounded definition of "book" is:
""Non-periodical printed publication of at least 49 pages
excluding covers".
But a book, above all else, is a medium. It encapsulates
information (of one kind or another) and conveys it across
time and space. Moreover, as opposed to common opinion, it is
- and has always been - a rigidly formal affair. Even the
latest "innovations" are nothing but ancient wine in sparkling
new bottles.
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