The major libraries of the future are forming now, and the Internet in particular, and technology in general, are key ingredients. These libraries differ from those of past generations because of their creators’ psychology, mainly individual collectors who happen to be technology leaders.
They don’t collect to impress people, to create an image, or to reassure themselves of their erudition. They aren’t impressed by rarity or by what others have deemed desirable. They don’t need to buy culture.
Few of these libraries are even slightly known to the public. Most are as private as they are individual. People with the means and ideas to collect what really interests them, rather than build a library that represents others’ ideas and what they think a library should be, could not do so without the Internet.
While sources for historical letters and manuscripts have always been relatively few, and collectors of original writings have been more individual in their approach, the supply system has always strongly influenced book collecting.
If you were interested in people or subjects outside the mainstream, and no dealer specialized in the area, you would have a very difficult time collecting. Dealers wouldn’t buy non-mainstream books for their stocks and certainly couldn’t afford to risk catalog space on books of unproven interest.
The Internet has revolutionized this. The books you want to put together on a particular subject may be scattered among several hundred dealers worldwide, and they may not be expensive enough to appear in printed catalogs, but the Net lets you find them efficiently.
The Internet has revolutionized so much! If you wanted to learn, for example, to study for your GED, you went to the library and used books to prepare. Today, however, online courses, such as the accredited GED course from Onsego, have taken that role for many students.
Computerized inventories have also greatly enhanced collectors’ ability to fully use and appreciate their libraries and collections, which they can readily search for cross-references or other subjects in letters, manuscripts, and books. Technology has also made most standard reference sets available online, eliminating the need to take up large amounts of linear feet of shelf space in modern libraries.
Many dealers and librarians are surprised to hear that, after 40 years in the business, I enjoy it more than ever. I believe new and future collectors, with their genuine interest, excitement, and unique take on life, keep me going on more interesting journeys into the past.
If you want to learn more about the meaning of the word “Collateral” (assets given by lenders to borrowers), read the linked article. If borrowers default on their obligations, lenders can seize that collateral.