Review Detail

The two suburban libraries that I visit each have about six LRH books (2007 editions) on their shelves, next to Buddhism in the religion category. The choice seems random: Fundamentals of Thought, Evolution of a Science, Self Analysis are fine but what do raw public make of Intro to Scientology Ethics and History of Man? I don't think they get much use, although I borrowed Ethics to read four pages that were blank in my own copy.

Alarm bells ring at the idea of telling librarians to destroy older editions. Yes, lending libraries do dispose of old books to make room for new ones, at their own discretion rather than in obedience from orders from outside. But part of the purpose of institutional libraries is to preserve all editions of an important work so that future scholars will be able to compare and trace the changes. This might not be understood by a guy who never completed high school. It's also an out-point that people who claim to be Scientologists would want to destroy books written by L. Ron Hubbard. Compare this to the attitude of Muslims, who treat a copy of the al-Quran with respect however old and tattered it may become.