Lace research 50 and more years from now is something guilds should begin to think about, and perhaps put on meeting agendas and in their newsletters. Especially, in countries that have always had a problem getting lace books shipped to them from overseas. Yes, there will be pdf's and other computer options, but the best research librarians have told me they will always try to collect and save original materials about rare subjects. This is because they may have interesting annotations and perhaps articles and correspondence tucked into them that will add to their research value in the years ahead. I invite you to think about how much womens' history has been systematically destroyed throughout human experience. And, think about how difficult it was for most of you - when you first became interested in lace - to find everything you needed. You might check to see if your national lace organizations have significant out-of-print and rare books in their libraries. If not, perhaps a small lace group could pool their financial resources to buy desirable books for their national lace organization or national library? Books filling this description will be very costly to purchase in a few years, given the new technologies that are replacing them. Book stores are closing. Can used-book dealers become obsolete? First, you must thoroughly check the collecting policies of the libraries. Then, get important books into your permanent reference libraries, in their original format!!!!!!! Wouldn't you like to read a book with margin notes in it by famous lace historians and makers of the past? Or, maybe a book review of an old book? That sort of thing..... Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center
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