Is there a danger that in concentrating on digital information, the library will neglect its great historical collections?
Verba: We certainly don’t intend to. As I said, we will continue to buy lots of books and journals, because that is how most scholarship is still published. In addition, we are putting major effort into the preservation and conservation of our traditional collections. Our collections are wonderful and they are old — they are wonderful because they are old. They need constant attention if they are to be preserved for scholarly use. Many of our unique and heavily used research resources are endangered by embrittlement. We are major players in a national effort to reformat such books. Other parts of our collection need repair and protection. The University Library’s Preservation Center is waging a war in an effort to preserve these resources. We have been significantly dependent on federal funding for this important work but need to develop new support. The well-being of these materials is essential to the future of scholarship and to the integrity of our collections. We have to build ou
