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A public library had been the pride of every American locality one hundred years ago . Now it is a financial burden for the cities. The book collections are frequently reduced by the massive library book sales .
At a different level, the research libraries and archives become increasingly suspicious and restrictive toward their patrons.
After the infamous ban of Eric Hunt from the Stanford University Libraries
I see this mention of a sad experience at a British archives.
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At her "Private Pictures", Janina Struk recalls:
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My own requests to gain access and study the large collection of albums deposited at the archive were greeted with the incredulity.
I was upbraided by officials for asking to see too many of them. My competence as a researcher was questioned. What could I hope to accomplish by studying so many photographs? I wonder how often readers at the British Library are admonished by requesting too many books.
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Janina Struk, Private Pictures. Soldiers' Inside View of War, I.B. Tauris 2011.
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