RARA-AVIS: Another Apology

To: rara-avis@icomm.ca
Subject: RARA-AVIS: Another Apology
From: "H. Curtiss Leung" <hleung@prolifics.com>
Date: Fri, 09 May 1997 13:21:35 -0400
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Reply-To: rara-avis@icomm.ca
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James Mountain wrote:

>Hello all,
>I apologize to the list for the public flame, and I apologize to 
>Curtiss Leung for flaming him in public. I'd hit reply, typed and hit 
>send before I had thought about the address. It was stupid thing for 
>me to do. Anyway, Curtiss, feel free too slap me around if you like,
>and if you ever need a book, you have ten dollars free book credit 
>with me. 
>Rergards,
>James

And I have to apologize as well for tossing "whining" back at James
in my first email.  While I'm at it, I should also apologize for dragging
my feet in writing this reply...better late than never, I hope.  And
James, you don't have to give me credit -- if you have something I want
(and I can afford it!), I'll pay your asking price with a smile.

Regarding the substance of this thread, trying to make a living selling 
books must be a struggle at times -- but trying to fulfill a public 
university's book acquisition requirements with insufficient funds can be,
too.  But I don't think the interest of booksellers and university libraries
are opposed; instead, the conflict is between collectors with unequal
purchasing power.  Given that, perhaps we ought to inquire what purposes
different collections serve and figure out if a bidding war between parties
actually allocates resources in a sensible way.  A collector is pursuing
a private interest -- she's satisfying an interest in the item she collects,
or investing for future return.  A library, on the other hand, provides
texts to the public.  First editions and manuscripts are, I should think, 
important resources for scholars and experts, and so while a library's 
acquisition may take a text _off the market_ it does NOT take it out of 
circulation.  Some collectors make their private libraries available to
interested and qualified individuals, true, but they're not bound to do so.  
Libraries are.  Am I advocating that all important editions and manuscripts
be automatically allocated to libraries?  Of course not.  But let's at least
admit that private pleasure and public benefit aren't interchangable, and 
that the former depends upon everyone's contribution to the latter.

        To put it differently, in _The Little Sister_, Orfemay Quest pursued 
her private economic while Phillip Marlowe neglected his.  Who would you rather
have as your neighbor?  And who would you rather be?
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Curtiss Leung                              (212)267-7722 Voice
hleung@prolifics.com                       (212)608-6753 Fax
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"Futility is...hard to deal with" -- Patrick Bateman
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