Just a brief note of backround re: the scanned catalog at Princeton. As I understand it, the chief impetus for scanning the card catalog here was the need for a cost-efficient method of card preservation. The catalog is a complicated, composite object made up of paper stocks dating back into the late 19th century. Moreover, because the card catalog was a public object, simple wear-and-tear on the cards (6.5 million) was well advanced and out of our control. Ca. 1990, it was estimated that nearly 1 million cards needed complete replacement immediately, otherwise they would be physically unusable in ten years. Consequently, a cost / benefit analysis of different means of preservation was undertaken and the idea that emerged as most effective for our need was scanning. The result has been most satisfactory. An added outcome, of course, was that the scanned catalog was distributable by network, whereas the orginal card catalog had to be consulted in one and only one place. At present, 40 work stations distributed around campus now give access to information that was once available only at the main library. Stephen Ferguson Special Collections Princeton University Library One Washington Road Princeton, NJ 08544 Tel: 609-258-3165 Fax: 609-258-4105 E-mail: [log in to unmask] WWW - URL: http://www.princeton.edu/~ferguson/