AMCA Membership fees to increase to $40 in July

[Steve Slocombe]

Dear Keith, I sent in digitised files for the 1919 Lake and the 1950s Rikuo a year ago and still haven't seen these on the Virtual Library yet. How much of a backlog is there?

[Keith Kizer]

... I believe a library should be set up using this forum template, with categories representing the major marques. Contributors would dictate the best route, and it would be a flexible work in progress, that could change, and grow over many years because of many members ideas.

Eric, this is a great idea but at least let me explain one of the major issues. Scanning a document is fairly easy for the computer savvey people. Phil, I'm not talking to you. The problem is saving it in a way that works on the Internet without the file being massive. Mark has come up with a great set of instructions of what he goes through to scan a document properly. Unfortunately unless you have the right kind of scanner and the knowledge on how to use it, it is not for the faint of heart. I hate that the can keeps getting kicked down the road but we will get it right in time and open the world to hundreds of more documents.

[stevekleincustom]

Lucky me, Folks,...

I deduct my dues as a business expense.
But with no Meet in my region, and little personal interest in the magazine, its come down to annoying some on this forum that makes my membership worthwhile!


.....Cotten

.... and we sure hope you decide to keep on annoying us sir!

[frichie68]

Couple thoughts on the library- and "..join a chapter and get involved.." The AMCA says we got this cool library, feel free to use it . . . And invite folks/members to contribute information . . . that doesn't get entered when it IS contributed. Maybe they should emphasize LIMITED information is available...?
What does "join a chapter and get involved" have to do with that? I'm dead center in the middle of one of the largest chapters in the country, yet I don't know of a single member in reasonable driving distance that I can pop in on and maybe ask-or answer-a question or two. So. I have to rely pretty much on what information can be gleaned on this wireless contraption.

[fillibuster]

Golly Eric,

Three Chapters in the space of one? Maybe they can't make up their minds either.

Just to try to stay on on the hijack topic at least:
The AMCA Library should be a comprehensive collection of all information available, freely available to all, or all will not freely contribute.

....Cotten

Not responding to you necessarily, Tom (I do agree, tho)...
I feel that a library expansion will be expensive, requiring a separate "investment" of us. And I'm curious as to who and how we got what exists now. The person who can answer that should be available to suggest the terms we're facing in making the library what we might be satisfied with (for beginners).

[T. Cotten]

Golly Eric,

Three Chapters in the space of one? Maybe they can't make up their minds either.

Just to try to stay on on the hijack topic at least:
The AMCA Library should be a comprehensive collection of all information available, freely available to all, or all will not freely contribute.

....Cotten

[exeric]

Especially if there is no Chapter close.

.....Cotten

How true Tom; but here in Florida we have 3 chapters, and that is why I always hear crickets chirping when I mention that to my friends

[T. Cotten]

...Some of them like to bitch and moan about the AMCA; what's broken, what needs to be fixed, how somebody should take care of this or that problem. I always tell them to join a chapter and get involved, or come on this forum and talk about it. . . . That always shuts them up

Especially if there is no Chapter close.

.....Cotten

[BoschZEV]

This library topic always get's a bit heated ... maybe someday, something positive will spring forth.

It turns out that over the past 50+ years of obsessive collecting I've assembled what I believe to be the world's largest private collection of English-language motorcycle books, from 1897 to present. Also included are complete runs of a number of magazine titles for which I've created my own indexes for rapid searching on my computer. Anyway, because of this, and because I won't live forever, I've given more thought than most to the strengths and weaknesses of both real and virtual libraries.

One of the issues affecting all libraries is that, for some reason, it is quite common for people to feel that information should be free. They'll pay $hundreds at a swap meet for a rusty 1915 carburetor, but won't spend $5 for a book that deals with that carburetor. But, when they need information that's in that book, they'll think it perfectly reasonable to expect someone to spend their time scanning the relevant pages and sending it to them for free. I'm not criticizing this behavior, I'm just pointing out that this is what I've observed in motorcyclists. It's what some of the ranting and raving in the other thread you pointed to was about.

Information definitely is not free. Someone has to pay for creating it, buying it, storing it, indexing it, scanning it, etc. Unfortunately, since the majority of people -- people in general, not just motorcyclists -- don't value information (until they need it, but then they are interested only in that one particular tidbit of information which they expect to be given for free) I don't see a way forward for an AMCA library.

In my opinion, any actual solution would require significant money to be spent. However, assuming I am correct about this, and since everyone has an equal voice, and since the majority think information should be free (or the cost so negligible that it no special allocation would be required), we're at a brick wall.

This isn't apathy or laziness on my part, and I don't believe I'm arguing against something that might be "good enough" (random volunteers sometimes randomly scanning items) because I have an unrealistic expectation of "ideal." I'd love it if all the information in my library could be made available to everyone in the AMCA without a dime being given to me for it. I just don't see a way for that, or any other realistic library solution, to happen without a lot of money being spent on librarians, IT specialists, etc. And I simply don't see the AMCA membership willing to spend the necessary money.

[exeric]

This library topic always get's a bit heated and it was never my intention to P.O. my fellow members. However, it's always good to get a conversation going and maybe someday, something positive will spring forth.

Fillibuster, you contribute a lot, and more members should follow your lead. Unfortunately, I stand by my assessment of most members as lazy, and apathetic. I have close friends with large collections, and amazing talents, yet none of them will contribute. Some of them like to bitch and moan about the AMCA; what's broken, what needs to be fixed, how somebody should take care of this or that problem. I always tell them to join a chapter and get involved, or come on this forum and talk about it. . . . That always shuts them up

[rwm]

I wonder if it is possible to link photobucket to the library with Winner Circle bikes. I have a 68 O.P that is 99.5 or more pts and I have photographed it and it is on photobucket. If it is possible people could photograph their bikes at leisure, load them and have a link in the library to the pics.

One year lucy and i tried to photograph bikes after judging at Oley. I thought we could get the owners to go over their score cards and i would post the photos here for good reference points. After the first dozen no's i gave up.

[D.A.Bagin]

I wonder if it is possible to link photobucket to the library with Winner Circle bikes. I have a 68 O.P that is 99.5 or more pts and I have photographed it and it is on photobucket. If it is possible people could photograph their bikes at leisure, load them and have a link in the library to the pics.

[fillibuster]

I spent about 30 minutes one day, at MacDoctors, trying to get my laptop to load pix off my camera with the intention of sharing stuff with the rest of you. The exercise was a bust. ..... But I did something else: I took few manuals to my printer, ordered and received copies, and a disc for each which I sent to Bill Wood. (months prior I'd sent a book to JJ Cerilli) . I'm not sure whether anything developed from this contribution, but I can't notice any difference when I access the club library. ..... I have close to $60 invested in that contribution, so I know I've tried. And I can't help but wonder why we canonize philanthropists who donate to the Foundation, .. to what benefit? So again, if I felt compelled to fund something, I hope that it could be a real, real library. .... I'll just send in my whole camera.
Eric, I have to disagree with you on the "lazy, apathetic", whatever that was. Most of us are just plain illiterate.

[exeric]

I started to read the thread but the ranting and raving made me give up before getting to the end of the 2nd of the 11 pages.

And that is why one person's vision of a virtual library is doomed to fail. If you had read further you would have read some great ideas, and very sensible, workable concepts but those are one person's vision. I believe a library should be set up using this forum template, with categories representing the major marques. Contributors would dictate the best route, and it would be a flexible work in progress, that could change, and grow over many years because of many members ideas.

[BoschZEV]

The following link is an extensive dialogue about an AMCA virtual library. Just about every aspect was covered,

I started to read the thread but the ranting and raving made me give up before getting to the end of the 2nd of the 11 pages.

I think this library concept has been made too complex.

It's true that describing all the steps in how to tie one's shoe can make it sound too complex to hope to do. On the other hand, it's also true that it's possible to describe a complex project in a way that makes it sound simple to accomplish. Based on my own experiences, such as they are, in my view building a virtual library that deserves being called that definitely is a complex project requiring serious financial resources.