tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929346053949579231.post2835479119488990310..comments2024-03-23T00:59:24.057-04:00Comments on Sapping Attention: In search of the great white whaleBenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04856020368342677253noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929346053949579231.post-80973711295776582422011-04-13T21:06:46.000-04:002011-04-13T21:06:46.000-04:00Great catch.Great catch.Allen Riddellhttp://ariddell.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929346053949579231.post-19681045275723171222011-04-13T17:23:20.480-04:002011-04-13T17:23:20.480-04:00John Overholt from Harvard e-mails me this comment...John Overholt from Harvard e-mails me this comment which blogger wouldn't let him post:<br /><br />~~~~<br />You're absolutely right about why the 1st ed. of Moby Dick hasn't been digitized: at Harvard, all the copies are at Houghton, and we didn't participate in the Google scanning. We are digitizing more and more of our collections, but our top priority is unique manuscript items, rather than a (comparatively) widely held printed book. It’s almost a sort of tragedy of the commons situation--everybody is waiting for somebody else to digitize it. You've also touched on a major problem with the digitization being done by libraries around the world--it's very difficult to search for which library might have happened to digitize the particular work you want.<br /><br /> <br /><br />You might be interested to know that we have digitized Melville's Billy Budd manuscript and his copy of the Essex narrative, an important source for Moby Dick.<br /><br />http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.Hough:4686413<br /><br />http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.Hough:2641693Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04856020368342677253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929346053949579231.post-68275821471848493052011-04-13T15:08:07.398-04:002011-04-13T15:08:07.398-04:00Great post, Ben, that raises important questions n...Great post, Ben, that raises important questions not only for DH/text-analysis studies but also other academic researchers using these repositories. The 1st ed of Moby Dick is included in the Wright American Fiction collection, as are other canonical heavy-hitters. It would require a bit of extra effort to download what you want, but you could get it there I think.Natalie Houstonhttp://nmhouston.comnoreply@blogger.com