Posted by Mark Darrah on January 26, 2000 at 05:07:43 in 12.75.151.103:
In Reply to: An open letter to all posted by Doug May on January 26, 2000 at 03:11:38:
Anyway, I too am frustrated beyond belief by the inability to access some of the things that are talked about.
James' posts are a perfect example. While it is interesting to hear about his findings, it really doesn't do any good to hear about photos that we can't see. I'd almost rather not hear about them at all!
OK, not really James, I know you're in a difficult position. I'm glad you're cataloging them. If another source comes along, it will be much easier to find what is needed.
I'm still not clear as to the reason they won't allow reproduction. Are they afraid of damage to them or are they just bogged down in bureaucracy and are too lazy to do anything? Can a flash camera really do any damage? What needs to be done is a good scan of them before they disintegrate completely. And I mean a GOOD scan, like what Mark Warren did with the Shipbuilder books.
While it is probable that microfilm copies of the journals can be found, it's the photos that are precious. Microfilm is useless there.
James, have you ever mentioned the association? It's not like we have any real influence, but who knows? Do they have an email address? If not, we still ought to consider a letter writing campaign if nothing else.
Much of the important stuff is now unobtainable. Like the Olympic specification book mentioned in "Triumph and Tragedy". I made it a crusade to find out about it last year, but quickly found out about Titanic politics. It's out there, but no one will ever see it.
I recently found out about some H & W plans that are in the hands of a "collector" that will never see the light of day because the person isn't willing to share them. Or maybe because they were obtained "under the table". Who knows. What good does it do? None that I can see, other than to fuel their own ego.
Sorry, I didn't mean to go off on a rant. This just seemed like a good opportunity.
I'm all for trying to use our "influence" to get better access. I don't know how to go about it though.
If it were possible to get scans made of the journals, I would think that there wouldn't a copyright issue any more, so there is no reason they couldn't be posted on the web. They SHOULD be made available to all.