[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fDjspTsaT1ibC4nvPx-kWG1FqVGTasa6C26_TJaf2rTs":3,"$fAFOX2bqlVfzftVT7LHSNCGcz8bGkSpmxS7qwt4oAg0I":12},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"bio_jsonld":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},49371,"Margaret Leslie Davis","M",2,null,"margaret-leslie-davis",[],{"quotes":13,"pagination":62},[14,42],{"id":15,"quote_text":16,"author_id":5,"source_id":8,"has_image":17,"author":18,"source":19,"quote_tag":20,"commentary":41},512363,"As historian Albert L. Hurtado wrote, \"War, pestilence, and famine blow books around the planet like so many hostages to uncertain fortune. Thieves steal, vandals deface, pious clergy burn, and worms eat books. Whether threatened by worms or war, there is nothing permanent about books and libraries.",true,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[21,26,31,36],{"id":22,"tag":23},2840925,{"id":24,"tag_name":25},177,"books",{"id":27,"tag":28},2840927,{"id":29,"tag_name":30},2327,"libraries",{"id":32,"tag":33},2840930,{"id":34,"tag_name":35},3791,"vulnerability",{"id":37,"tag":38},2840926,{"id":39,"tag_name":40},4158,"impermanence","**The Backstory**\n\nAlbert L. Hurtado, an American historian specializing in the history of Native Americans and Latin America, likely wrote these words during a time when his field was grappling with issues of colonialism, imperialism, and cultural preservation. As a scholar living in the late 20th century, he would have been acutely aware of the fragile nature of historical records and the constant threat to their existence posed by human conflict, environmental degradation, and intentional destruction. This quote suggests that Hurtado was writing during a period of heightened awareness about the impermanence of cultural artifacts.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\n\nWhat Hurtado's words convey is not merely a sense of pessimism or despair but rather an acknowledgment of the inherent vulnerability of knowledge itself. He highlights the paradox that, despite our best efforts to preserve and protect them, books and libraries are always at risk due to forces both external (war, pestilence) and internal (human actions). This tension underscores the precarious balance between preservation and destruction.\n\n**How to Use This**\n\nIn today's digital age, where information is more accessible than ever before, it is easy to take for granted the permanence of our knowledge systems. Yet Hurtado's insight serves as a timely reminder that even in the face of technological advancements, we must remain vigilant about protecting and preserving our cultural heritage. By acknowledging the impermanence of knowledge, professionals and creatives can adopt a more proactive approach to documentation, digitization, and backup strategies to ensure the long-term survival of their work.",{"id":43,"quote_text":44,"author_id":5,"source_id":8,"has_image":45,"author":46,"source":47,"quote_tag":48,"commentary":9},288483,"Printing meant arranging the letters into words, the words into perfectly straight lines, and the lines into even blocks of text to be inked and pressed onto paper or vellum. And each small step of the process, which sounds so mundane today, required invention.",false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[49,52,57],{"id":50,"tag":51},1762607,{"id":24,"tag_name":25},{"id":53,"tag":54},1762608,{"id":55,"tag_name":56},462,"history",{"id":58,"tag":59},1762609,{"id":60,"tag_name":61},28986,"printing",{"currentPage":63,"totalPages":63,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":64},1,10]