Digitizing isn't the ‘real' thing

As Wednesday's editorial pointed out, it is commendable that the University of South Carolina is giving people access to old S.C. newspapers by creating a digital archive. Allowing anyone with a computer to share our history is a tremendous gift to those who have no firsthand access to archival materials.

Nevertheless, while technology has its place, it will never replace the 'real' thing. The ability to see and touch a newspaper published in 1732 cannot be matched by an image on a screen. The opportunity to hold DuBose Heyward's handwritten manuscript of 'Porgy,' with his edits and margin notes, elicits an excitement that a computer image will never match.

This reality was underscored on Wednesday during Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's visit to Charleston. During her tour of the city with Tommy Dew, she was enthralled to learn that the Charleston Library Society has John Locke's handwritten Constitution for Carolina and that she could have the opportunity to hold it herself.

The culture, the literature, the history — even the music created by humans over the last few thousand years — have endured because of books, manuscripts and newspapers. As their relevance is called into question by the wonders of digital technology, there is increasing concern that what was recorded as little as 10 years ago, in what was then the state-of-the-art medium, is largely unreadable and possibly unrecoverable.

Technology has its place, but the preservation of our books, the preservation of our written works in a medium that is accessible to everyone without the need of technology of any sort, will prove to be a valuable thing.

The Library Society, established in 1748, and responsible for the establishment of the Charleston Museum, the S.C. Historical Society, and the College of Charleston, believes that preserving those treasures in a setting that invites people to congregate, invites people to put cell phones aside and invites people to enjoy an atmosphere of gentility and learning is also commendable.

Yes, digitizing old newspapers is a wonderful gift to the community at large. However, the Library Society will continue to value the hard copies of newspapers we receive every day, and we will happily make them available to those who still want to touch and feel their news.

Anne W. Cleveland

Executive Director

Charleston Library Society

King Street

Charleston