The Value of Old Books

I was in the library last week looking for an old textbook on metal working. I had forgotten how to calculate something and to my surprise, the information I needed was no longer in my current books. All of the newer books have wonderful sections on why something should be done or the theory behind an idea or practice but specific directions on how to do something is slowly vanishing.

I consider this a major problem since more and more industrial and trade workers are retiring and these skills will be lost with them. The likelihood of being able to find this information in the future is not strong since it is unlikely that these old books will be digitized since they are “so out of date”.

In many trade areas, there is now only one textbook available in the field. In some areas, we are down to zero. No matter how many years of experience a worker has, it is unlikely that he or she knows everything about all aspects of their trade. Most workers specialize and so they are very strong in the area in which they worked and less strong in other areas. Since people tend to teach what they know and use often, good methods may be lost without a book or other reference to record seldom used methods. Yet there are times when this information is still needed.

We need to start recording this information on the Internet so that it remains available. If you know something well, consider writing about it and either publishing it or posting it online. Just a few of the areas that seem to be vanishing from print include beginning pipe drafting, metal casting, and geometric constructions in drafting and safety layouts for machine shops.

By the way, I found what I was looking for in a 1942 textbook. I put in a request that the book not be discarded when the collection is reviewed for culling. I wonder how long it will remain on the shelves. I also wonder how many people realize that old books are now the best place to look for this type of applied information.