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