Opening remarks

August Imholtz, Readex
Kolakowski’s “What the past is for”: a reflection on the irreality of the past and its consequences in the digital world

August provided a philosophical discussion of Kolakowski’s lecture, “What the past is for” (http://www.loc.gov/loc/kluge/kluge-prize-speech.html).  The talk was a discussion of history and the idea that there is no historical truth, only interpreted events.  It was a fun talk to listen to — but one that  I’ll admit I’d have a difficult time putting into words.  Had I been on the ball, I would have simply recorded it because it was I think an appropriate way to start the institute.  I’ve attended this institute over the last two years (this being my third) and one thing that I have found is that our work in libraries seems to be a product of interpretation.  How do we interpret our place within this new digital reality — what do we see as our user communities, how do we deal with the varied forms of metadata and digital media.  We live in a changing world filled with different perspectives and goals.  So onward.

 

–TR


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