SKU: 69253304437

Cataloging the World: Paul Otlet and the Birth of the Information Age

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Cataloging the World: Paul Otlet and the Birth of the Information AgeThe dream of capturing and organizing knowledge is as old as history. From the archives of ancient Sumeria and the Library of Alexandria to the Library of Congress and Wikipedia, humanity has wrestled with the problem of harnessing its intellectual output. The timeless quest for wisdom has been as much about information storage and retrieval as creative genius. In Cataloging the World, Alex Wright introduces us to a figure who stands out in the long

The dream of capturing and organizing knowledge is as old as history. From the archives of ancient Sumeria and the Library of Alexandria to the Library of Congress and Wikipedia, humanity has wrestled with the problem of harnessing its intellectual output. The timeless quest for wisdom has been as much about information storage and retrieval as creative genius.

In Cataloging the World, Alex Wright introduces us to a figure who stands out in the long line of thinkers and idealists who devoted themselves to the task. Beginning in the late nineteenth century, Paul Otlet, a librarian by training, worked at expanding the potential of the catalog card, the world's first information chip. From there followed universal libraries and museums, connecting his native Belgium to the world by means of a vast intellectual enterprise that attempted to organize and code everything ever published. Forty years before the first personal computer and fifty years before the first browser, Otlet envisioned a network of "electric telescopes" that would allow people everywhere to search through books, newspapers, photographs, and recordings, all linked together in what he termed, in 1934, a reseau mondial--essentially, a worldwide web.

Otlet's life achievement was the construction of the Mundaneum--a mechanical collective brain that would house and disseminate everything ever committed to paper. Filled with analog machines such as telegraphs and sorters, the Mundaneum--what some have called a "Steampunk version of hypertext"--was the embodiment of Otlet's ambitions. It was also short-lived. By the time the Nazis, who were pilfering libraries across Europe to collect information they thought useful, carted away Otlet's collection in 1940, the dream had ended. Broken, Otlet died in 1944.

Wright's engaging intellectual history gives Otlet his due, restoring him to his proper place in the long continuum of visionaries and pioneers who have struggled to classify knowledge, from H.G. Wells and Melvil Dewey to Vannevar Bush, Ted Nelson, Tim Berners-Lee, and Steve Jobs. Wright shows that in the years since Otlet's death the world has witnessed the emergence of a global network that has proved him right about the possibilities--and the perils--of networked information, and his legacy persists in our digital world today, captured for all time.



Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 06/01/2014
ISBN: 9780199931415
Pages: 350
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.70w x 1.20d

Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 04/15/2014
Publishers Weekly 04/21/2014
Choice 12/01/2014 pg. 654
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SKU: 69253304437

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I will purchase this again and again as long as it is made in the USA. I have bought this specific toy 3 times for one of my dogs. He still has all three of them. They are durable, long lasting and are not dangerous like some toys are if they start to come apart or after they’ve been chewed on for a while. With these chew toys, you can tell they’ve been chewed on but they don’t fall apart or come apart in large chunks. I watch my dogs with their toys and have had to take away other toys, even from Nylabone, because large pieces will come off or they will get too sharp where they’ve been chewed. Not this one. I’ll keep buying this one as long as it is USA-made. My dog has not damaged his teeth on this toy. I do get the wolf size which is good for dogs up to 50 pounds and he is 66 pounds.
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This bone is attractive to both my 60 lb dogs. They're more light to moderate chewers at best but I remember when my youngest was a puppy, these things would buy me quite a few hours of quiet time. We repeatedly bought the ring style- must have had at least 5 as she was a rather voracious chewer. However, I don't mind replacing Nylabones one bit; they hold up well/can take A LOT of wear and make an excellent redirect for your bored puppy who ruined your favorite pair of shoes. I went down a size and bought a medium; I find that both dogs (full sized male Australian Shepherd + female lab/doberman mix) have trouble carrying a large size due to weight and this one is perfect for them! I would previously buy large ones who would barely ever get touched. However, you also don't want to buy one that's too small, so it's a fine line when you've got a dog who is somewhat in a weight range borderline.
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Safe chew bone for strong chewers.
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This bone is exactly as advertised. I feel comfortable knowing it won’t splinter and last a good while. Only bone I let my dog chew.
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