Second movie I’ve seen in the last week were a collection of rare books was paraded about. I must admit that as much as I love reading I have very little desire to own rare, fragile and expensive books. Much better to be able to bend a book on its spine to find just that perfect reading angle. Much better to not worry about a splash of tea on a page or take a book to a beach. Floor to ceiling shelves are fantastic when filled not by a wall of brown and red leather but by a splash of varying heights, colours, thicknesses and conditions. From Penguin to Harper Collins to Nebula, all those different, lovely spines.
In my head the value of rare books is in maintaining original text. For translations, for staying true what the author first wrote down or illustrated. Being a techno geek though I think digitizing the lot is a better way. If a rare book turns to dust, is lost or damaged then having a digital copy, millions of digital copies, is far better.
After all it is the words not the ink and paper that is of value.
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