Brenda Maddox takes up this question in a column for The Guardian, spinning off a conference last week "on literary archives at the British Library, 'Manuscripts Matter', which brought together scholars, librarians, dealers, authors, even biographers like myself, all of whom, in their various ways, know the importance of the raw material - letters, rough drafts, even train tickets and bank statements - that show a writer's working life."
Some good debates here over security, cataloging speed, funding and archival integrity.
