David & David --
        I agree with the two of you and Austin Kerr that the Standard
Encyclopedia remains very useful.  It is a monument of temperance
movement scholarship, with its global coverage greatly enhanced by the
worldwide network of missionaries which could be called upon at that
time. (As so often with social movements, the scholarship reaches its
height just as the movement is losing its political significance!)
        For instance, when Julia Lee was working on alcohol in Chinese
poetry, we could not find anything else as detailed on alcohol in
ancient Chinca (nowadays, there's also the somewhat quirky "Grandiose
survey of Chinese alcoholic drinks and beverages",
http://ocean.wxuli.edu.cn/wine/umain.htm).  We were very happy indeed
about 20 years ago at the Alcohol Research Group in Berkeley when Ron
Stall came in with a set of the Encyclopedia for the library that he had
picked up at a flea market stall for $10.  In many places (particularly
outside the US) it is not very available.   
        I wonder whether it might be worth approaching the Society for
the Study of Addiction (http://www.addiction-ssa.org/ssa_3.htmabout) to
see if they might be willing to host it on their website.  It seems
appropriate, somehow, in  view of their status as the oldest research
society in the field.  Robin  

-----Original Message-----
From: David [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, 13 April 2001 3:21 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Standard Encyclopedia of the Alcohol Problem


Putting the Standard Encyclopedia of the Alcohol Problem on the web
would be
worthwhile only if it can be scanned with accuracy.  That would require
a
full proofreading of the scanned text.  Too many things are being put up
on
the web that are flawed and potentially misleading to people who naively
assume the web's reliability.  Is there an angel out there who would be
willing to support the use of top-quality scanning equipment and the
human
proofreading to follow?  Would the ladies of the WCTU be interested in
making
a grant to a university.  Northern Illinois University has a
digitization
center that would be capable of doing the work, but the funding would
need to
come from elsewhere.

David Kyvig

David Fahey wrote:

> Arguably, the most important reference work in temperance history is
the
> Standard Encyclopedia of the Alcohol Problem, 6 vols., ed. Ernest
Hurst
> Cherrington (Westerville, Ohio: American Issue, 1925-30), which tried
to
> cover the entire world.  Would it be worth the trouble of somebody to
scan
> it and place it on the Web?  A number of larger reference works
published
> early in the 20th century are available on the Web.  What would be the
> problems?  What would be required to post the Standard Encyclopedia?
Is
> the print version readily available to researchers?