【Allovertheworld,librarieshavebeguntheHerculeantaskofmakingfaithfuldigitalcopiesofthebooks,imagesandrecordingsthatpreservetheintellectualeffortofhumankind.Forarmchairscholars,theworkpromisestobringsuchawealt】

　　Allovertheworld,librarieshavebeguntheHerculeantaskofmakingfaithfuldigitalcopiesofthebooks,imagesandrecordingsthatpreservetheintellectualeffortofhumankind. Forarmchairscholars,theworkpromisestobringsuchawealthofinformationtothedesktopthatthepresentInternetmayseemamateurishinretrospect.…

　　Librariansseethreeclearbenefitstogoingdigital. First,ithelpsthempreserverareandfragileobjectswithoutdenyingaccesstothosewhowishtostudythem. TheBritishLibrary,forexample,holdstheonlymedievalmanuscriptofBeowulfinLondon. OnlyqualifiedscholarswereallowedtoseeituntilKevinS.KiernanoftheUniversityofKentuckyscannedthemanuscriptwiththreedifferentlightsources(revealingdetailnotnormallyapparenttothenakedeye)andputtheimagesupontheInternetforanyonetoperuse(阅览). Tokyo’sNationalDietLibraryissimilarlycreatinghighlydetaileddigitalphotographsof1,236woodblockprints,scrollsandothermaterialsitconsidersnationaltreasuressothatresearcherscanscrutinizethemwithouthandlingtheoriginals.

　　Asecondbenefitisconvenience. Oncebooksareconvertedtodigitalform,patronscanretrievetheminsecondsratherthanminutes. Severalpeoplecansimultaneouslyreadthesamebookorviewthesamepicture. Clerksaresparedthechoreofreshelving. AndlibrariescouldconceivablyusetheInternettolandtheirvirtualcollectionstothosewhoareunabletovisitinperson.

　　Thethirdadvantageofelectroniccopiesisthattheyoccupymillimetersofspaceonamagneticdiskratherthanmetersonashelf. Expandinglibrarybuildingsisincreasinglycostly. TheUniversityofCaliforniaatBerkeleyrecentlyspent$46milliononanundergroundadditiontohouse1.5millionbooks–anaveragecostof$30pervolume. Thepriceofdiskstorage,incontrast,hasfallentoabout$2per300-pagepublicationandcontinuestodrop.

　　小题1:Thebesttitleforthispassagewouldbe__________.A．ThreeBenefitsofLibrariesB．LibrariesGoingDigitalC．Space-savingE-learningD．SecurityofElectronicReading