Disasters All Around

Aside from my current academic interest in the history of the book, I continue to work in the field of disaster response and recovery. I heard several interesting talks on the topic that are more historical in nature. They provide much food for thought as I consider how to revise my first ALA publication on Disaster Response and Recovery for Libraries and Archives. There is so much to think about before I sit down to write it. The new revision is due out in early 2011, which only seems like a long time from now. I really want to rewrite the book, so there will probably be more examples from history to sprinkle into the advice on planning. Any suggestions you have are always welcome.

Bibles - what are the differences?

It is important to realize that the books of the bible are arranged in a different order depending upon the religion and the time period. Jewish and Christian Bibles arrange the books of the Old Testament differently. The Latin Vulgate, King James, Standard Revised, and others include different books. Catholic and Protestant Bibles arrange the books of the Old Testament, the Apocrypha, and the New Testament in a different order. Don't forget that the books of the Bible are called by different names in each language and perhaps religion.

It is no simple task to find a chart comparing the order and/or the names of the books. The best chart(s) I have found to date are in the Encyclopaedia Judaica. Undoubtedly there is a similar chart in the Catholic Encyclopedia. I have not found a chart that is multilingual (Hebrew, Greek, Latin, English). I am in the process to creating one for myself.

Perhaps I will find this chart in a polyglot concordance. I will keep you posted.

Newest study interests

As part of the changes I am making to my career path, I am busy studying the History of the Book, examining the physical structure of the book, the intellectual content, and the visual features. This month I am comparing three Bibles that are incunabula all deriving from Anton Koberger's shop or typefaces.

Here is a humorous video about Medieval Books from YouTube called the Medieval HelpDesk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQHX-SjgQvQ