Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper was published by Random House in 2001 and won the National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction. The “double fold” of the title is the test librarians use to determine whether paper is too brittle to keep: fold a corner back and forth — if it breaks after two folds, discard the original and rely on the microfilm copy.
Baker’s argument is that this test, and the microfilming programs it justified, led to the destruction of millions of irreplaceable bound newspaper volumes — complete runs of the New York World, the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle — on the grounds that microfilm preserved the content. But microfilm, Baker demonstrates, does not preserve the content: it loses color, half-tones reproduce badly, advertisements and illustrations are often omitted, and the physical experience of reading a newspaper — the page size, the juxtaposition of stories, the tactile reality — is entirely lost.
Baker’s polemic named names: the Library of Congress, the British Library, and major research universities had sold or pulped collections that could never be reassembled. He was particularly devastating on the role of Nicholson Baker (a federal program that funded microfilming) in incentivizing destruction. In response to his own findings, Baker founded the American Newspaper Repository — purchasing, with his own money, collections that libraries were about to destroy.
Collecting Double Fold
First edition (Random House, New York, 2001): Hardcover with dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition, fine/fine: $20–$50
- Very good/very good: $10–$25
Projected values (2026–2036): Moderate appreciation. Won the National Book Critics Circle Award.
Saving Newspapers
Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper (2001) won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction and is Baker’s most important non-fiction work. Baker argues that American libraries have been systematically destroying their newspaper and book collections — microfilming them (badly) and then discarding the originals. His investigation revealed that the Library of Congress and other institutions had destroyed irreplaceable runs of newspapers. Baker put his money where his argument was, founding the American Newspaper Repository to preserve original newspapers. The book is a passionate, meticulously documented polemic that changed library policy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did this change anything? Yes — the book sparked a national debate about library preservation policies and contributed to reforms in how institutions handle original materials. Baker’s American Newspaper Repository preserved significant collections that would otherwise have been destroyed.