HOW CAN A LIBRARY BE AN ORGAN...

Mostly as a metaphor, but there is a way in which the word organ also serves to mean a group or organization, as in the various organs of government or the judiciary is an organ of the federal government. But can a library be an organ of the government? To what extent does a National Library validate nationalistic chutzpah? According to Richard Rubin in Foundations of Library and Information Science , "What distinguishes these libraries is not simply their large collections; rather their special mission was to preserve the cultural heritage of the countries in which they were situated" (2004, pg. 271). Another objective of national libraries is the depository right, a method of collection that ensures that at least one copy of every material published in that country comes to rest in that country's National Library. Therefore, metaphorically, a National Library is where a country's cultural capital is stored, but literally, through the practice of legal deposit, it is also where every publishable material is warehoused. Interestingly enough, the practice of legal deposit makes me think of the seizure prerogative instilled by Ptolemy III during the operation of the Alexandrian Library (Supposedly, every book that came into Alexandria was copied and returned).