Double Fold

In his book Double Fold, author Nicholson Baker makes a strong argument about how libraries handle primary sources, specifically newspapers. Baker does not pretend to take an unbiased approach to his work, and is a strong proponent for saving original documents. He is so strong of an activist that he even spent his own money to save a single archive.

Baker begins his narrative in the British Library, where thousands and thousands of original newspapers were stored. He then weaves a story about the situation in the United States, which is just as dire. In order to preserve the information on these primary sources, libraries began converting these documents into microfilm and destroying the originals. This process does preserve the information in the newspapers, but with numerous downfalls. The tangibility of the original document is lost, picture quality is lessened and distorted, microfilm can not be digitized, and and the process is time consuming and expensive.

The reasons for microfilming have equally as many downfalls as the process itself. Libraries argued that original newspapers could not stand the test of time and would disintegrate. Several ridiculous tests were devised to show that the paper of books and newspaper could not remain intact. Using strong language to show his complete disagreement with these tests, Baker shows the idiocy of the so-called "double fold" test.

To Baker, the solution for saving these precious primary sources is the digitization of the information. This way, the originals can be saved and archived, but the information is still available to the public. Digital media preserves the source in much better condition than microfilm, as pictures are crisper and clearer and text is not as hard to read. This solution has many merits and valuable points, especially in today's world. Students who use these primary sources are often unfamiliar with how to use microfilm, but feel right at home accessing a digitally formatted document. Not only will the information be preserved, but more people are likely to use it and learn from it when they feel it is more accessible to them.

Preservationists like Baker are doing all they can to raise awareness about the destruction of primary sources. This is an issue that I was not even aware of, and I am glad to know that others are working to stop it. Hopefully the digital age will aid in their struggle and primary documents will survive the microfilm movement.