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Groups > alt.folklore.computers > #151846

Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall

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On Thu, 24 Sep 2015, Louis Krupp wrote:

> On 24 Sep 2015 13:35:11 GMT, jmfbahciv <See.above@aol.com> wrote:
>
>> Rich wrote:
>>> In comp.misc Osmium <r124c4u102@comcast.net> wrote:
>>>> "Louis Krupp" wrote:
>>>
>>>>> My contact at the Smithsonian said that if and when I start sending
>>>>> them books, I'm to send no more than one box per week...
>>>
>>>> Well there goes the truck idea, down the drain.
>>>
>>> No it doesn't, you are not thinking broadly enough.  Did they specify a
>>> size limit on the box?
>>>
>>> With one really big box, you can send them "one box" via truck for the
>>> week.
>>>
>> The goal is to preserve the knowledge.  If the Smithsonian can only
>> handle 1 box/week, sending them more will only piss them off,
>> overwhelm their setup and lose the information.
>>
>> How much does it cost to ship one box?  Is there a commuter
>> who goes from Louis' area to D.C. (e.g., Congressman)?
>
> Sure.  We have a few congressmen and a couple of senators, and if they
> fly to DC, they probably go through Denver, and the airport is about
> an hour away.  These people got to where they are by being good at
> getting out of doing things they don't want to do, and hauling a
> 40-pound box of old computer books is going to be high on that list.
>
> About three years ago, I sent a 50-pound box of books Media Mail for
> about $22.00.  I can do that once a week if the Smithsonian is my only
> option and that's what it takes to keep them happy.  I still don't
> know how many boxes total they'll want to deal with.
>
It adds up.  I remember very early in my life online, sending someone an 
IC they thought they needed.  I just took the IC off a scrap board, that 
cost me nothing.  But packaging it and sending it cost real money, and I 
never felt so generous after that.  Sure I'd give an IC if needed, but not 
the shipping.

> The hard part is going to be cataloging the contents of those 100+
> boxes.  I can't even get to most of them right now;  they're stacked
> up in storage behind other boxes that won't be going anywhere until
> November at the earliest.
>
> _Programming the OS/2 Presentation Manager_ (1989), anyone?  92
> libraries hold a copy, according to WorldCat, but how many, if asked,
> would say they plan to keep one forever?  Eventually, Brigham Young
> University and Trinity College and so on will figure out that nobody
> has checked this out in I don't know how many years it's been since
> anybody cared about OS/2, and they'll toss it...
>
Yes, that is a worry.  Lots of libraries see themselves as catering to the 
demands of the members, so if a book hasn't seen circulation in a long 
time, it's gone.  So yes, it's important to get such books into places 
that are intended to be an archive.

I don't think I have anything special in the way of computer books, but I 
have some chunks of books that make up relatively good selections in the 
fields they cover.  And I would worry about donating them somewhere unless 
they were going to value the books and keep them as an archive.  One 
reason i buy books (at used book sales) is because I don't trust others to 
keep them.

   Michael

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Thread

Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall jmfbahciv <See.above@aol.com> - 2015-09-22 12:48 +0000
  Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall Al Kossow <aek@bitsavers.org> - 2015-09-22 11:27 -0700
    Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall Louis Krupp <lkrupp@nospam.pssw.com.invalid> - 2015-09-22 15:08 -0600
      Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall "James Harris" <james.harris.1@gmail.com> - 2015-09-22 23:16 +0100
        Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall jmfbahciv <See.above@aol.com> - 2015-09-23 13:08 +0000
      Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall John Levine <johnl@iecc.com> - 2015-09-23 01:01 +0000
        Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall Louis Krupp <lkrupp@nospam.pssw.com.invalid> - 2015-09-22 19:39 -0600
          Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall Al Kossow <aek@bitsavers.org> - 2015-09-23 06:38 -0700
            Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall John Levine <johnl@iecc.com> - 2015-09-23 16:27 +0000
          Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall Hendrik Boom <hendrik@topoi.pooq.com> - 2015-10-06 00:41 +0000
            Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall Louis Krupp <lkrupp@nospam.pssw.com.invalid> - 2015-10-06 19:36 -0600
              Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2015-10-06 22:47 -0400
              Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall Stephen Thomas Cole <usenet@stephenthomascole.com> - 2015-10-07 03:28 +0000
                Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall Louis Krupp <lkrupp@nospam.pssw.com.invalid> - 2015-10-07 03:41 -0600
        Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall "James Harris" <james.harris.1@gmail.com> - 2015-09-23 04:03 +0100
          Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall Peter Flass <peter_flass@yahoo.com> - 2015-09-23 10:14 +0000
      Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall jmfbahciv <See.above@aol.com> - 2015-09-23 13:08 +0000
        Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall Louis Krupp <lkrupp@nospam.pssw.com.invalid> - 2015-09-23 12:47 -0600
          Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall "Osmium" <r124c4u102@comcast.net> - 2015-09-23 14:15 -0500
            Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall Louis Krupp <lkrupp@nospam.pssw.com.invalid> - 2015-09-23 14:17 -0600
            Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2015-09-23 21:09 +0000
              Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall John Levine <johnl@iecc.com> - 2015-09-23 22:56 +0000
                Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall Louis Krupp <lkrupp@nospam.pssw.com.invalid> - 2015-09-23 17:05 -0600
              Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall     wje@acm.org (Bill Evans) - 2015-09-23 15:49 -0700
              Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall Greymaus <mausg@mail.com> - 2015-09-24 10:48 +0000
              Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall jmfbahciv <See.above@aol.com> - 2015-09-24 13:35 +0000
                Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall Louis Krupp <lkrupp@nospam.pssw.com.invalid> - 2015-09-24 10:51 -0600
                Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2015-09-24 13:36 -0400
                Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall Louis Krupp <lkrupp@nospam.pssw.com.invalid> - 2015-09-24 12:06 -0600
                Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall "Charles Richmond" <numerist@aquaporin4.com> - 2015-09-24 16:13 -0500
                Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com - 2015-09-24 11:36 -0700
                Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall Peter Flass <peter_flass@yahoo.com> - 2015-09-25 12:27 +0000
                Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall Bob Eager <news0005@eager.cx> - 2015-09-25 12:57 +0000
                Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall jmfbahciv <See.above@aol.com> - 2015-09-25 13:06 +0000
                Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall Hendrik Boom <hendrik@topoi.pooq.com> - 2015-10-06 00:45 +0000
                Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall "Charles Richmond" <numerist@aquaporin4.com> - 2015-09-24 16:09 -0500
                Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall Lon <lon.stowell@comcast.net> - 2015-09-27 12:00 -0600
                Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall jmfbahciv <See.above@aol.com> - 2015-09-28 13:43 +0000
    Re: 100 boxes of computer books on the wall jmfbahciv <See.above@aol.com> - 2015-09-23 13:08 +0000

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