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Vandals in the Stacks? A Response to Nicholson Baker's Assault on Libraries
(Click to Enlarge)
Richard J. Cox
Book Code: GM2344
ISBN: 0-313-32344-5
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-32344-7
232 pages
Greenwood Press
Publication: 6/30/2002
List Price: $102.95 (UK Sterling Price: £59.95)
Availability: Print on demand
Media Type: Hardcover
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • [o]ffers the reader a reasoned and balanced account of the issues raised by Baker. Assuming the general public is interested in a reasoned account, Cox will be successful in his objective of bringing to the wider public audience his concerns about the future of the archival record. Regardless of the public interest, however, he has given professionals concerned with the issues of the preservation of society's record a solid base from which to continue the discussions.
    —portal:Libraries and the Academy     July 2003
  • Reading "Vandals" will help you to decide where you stand on a range of preservations issues, and help you determine whether or not to jetisson that bulky card catalog. Very Good.
    —The Shy Librarian     Summer 2003
  • The Society of American Archivists requested an answer to Baker's book, and that grew into this book. Unlike Baker's work, which was aimed at the general public, Cox's response is aimed at professional librarians and archivists. This is a valuable book for anyone who is queried about Baker's attacks. Baker has sounded an alarm, inspiring significant concern. Here are the foundations for a calm, reasoned, professional response.
    —Booklist/Professional Reading     December 1, 2002
  • ...a must-read for all librarians.
    —American Libraries     October 2002
Description: Libraries and archives have violated their public trust, argues Nicholson Baker in his controversial book Double Fold, by destroying traditional books, newspapers, and other paper-based collections. Baker's powerful and persuasive book is wrong and misleading, and Cox critiques it point by point, questioning his research, his assumptions, and his arguments about why and how newspapers, books, and other collections are selected and maintained. Double Fold, which reads like a history of libraries and archives, is not a history at all, but a journalistic account that is often based on fanciful and far-flung assertions and weak data. The present book provides an opportunity to understand how libraries and archives view their societal mandate, the nature of their preservation and documentary functions, and the complex choices and decisions that librarians and archivists face. Libraries and archives are not simple warehouses for the storage of objects to be occasionally called upon by a scholar, but they play vital roles in determining and shaping a society's knowledge and documentation.
Table of Contents:
  • Introduction
  • Life Imitates Art?
  • The Big Picture and Baker's World
  • Why Can't the Paper Keepers Keep All the Paper?
  • Newspaper Warehouses
  • Wrong Priorities
  • The Real Thing
  • Burning Libraries, Discards, Card Catalogs, Nicholson Baker, and Library History
  • Persistent Images
  • Mundane Matters
  • Mom, I Harass Monks (Too)
  • Index
LC Card Number: 2002016087
LCC Class: Z687
Dewey Class: 025
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