tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232811637669592992.post3981961770329682564..comments2024-03-29T06:40:22.715-04:00Comments on In the Service of Clio: Blog LXXVIII (78): E-books: Just Say NoNick Sarantakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08071764464888181459noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232811637669592992.post-77495009168007057152011-05-19T08:51:19.417-04:002011-05-19T08:51:19.417-04:00The main weakness of e-books is that they are depe...The main weakness of e-books is that they are dependent on some electronic storage technology that will change over time, and perhaps even disappear entirely, witness the huge amount of "abandonware," discontinued and unsupported software, that has disappeared since the 1990s.<br />I simply cannot imagine any of my books being unreadable because the technology used to produce them is no longer available. Can anyone?<br />All my old original work remains, in handwritten notebooks or typed pages. No danger of losing it in a computer accident. I include much work created on a computer, but printed out for safekeeping.<br />A visit to a library on the day it deaccessions copies is a visit to a wondrous place to play and buy. By the pound, in some cases. I've found some works worth having no matter their used or even ragged condition, simply because they are no longer in print and have some personal value. How would one have that stability in an e-book? I have a complete library of Thackeray that I bought for ten cents each, old but readable (most, never checked out). Can't imagine that happening with any of our current authors who publish electronically, as our rights to use and pass on our copies is tightly restricted.<br />I have a very strong public library system in my hometown, but it's still in danger, as our city manager is busy cutting staff city-wide and is evidently bent on privatizing everything he can. We are not out of the woods yet.<br />As much as I support authors and publishers, I know they lose money in books checked out by library patrons, but I also know that patrons who value the books often go on to buy their own personal copies.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232811637669592992.post-64922244312991952842011-05-08T20:35:25.943-04:002011-05-08T20:35:25.943-04:00Yes, you should really always have a paper copy, w...Yes, you should really always have a paper copy, which does raise questions about claims that we are going paperless. The real issue, though, is not about having one copy. It is about publishing format. If your publisher goes the e-book route and something bad happens with the format, what good does it do you if you have a paper copy of the manuscript in your files. What kind of readership/influence do you have? If your publisher goes the e-book route, but also sells hard copies at $100 a copy and only 26 libraries buy a copy, and something bad happens with the format what kind of readership/influence do you have? Not much. Published is published is not always true.Nick Sarantakeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08071764464888181459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232811637669592992.post-68315394244924802732011-05-08T20:15:04.249-04:002011-05-08T20:15:04.249-04:00You are quite right about format degradation and e...You are quite right about format degradation and even bit-rot, but, seriously, this is not just about the weakness of data. This is about not ever having just one copy of something, be it virtual or physical. These problems can be foreseen, managed and avoided, and one of the ways to do so is to make sure you have backups. (And yes, maybe one of them should be a print-out, just in case. OCR technology gets better and better so the paper version is actually a reasonable way to keep a last-ditch source for an electronic version.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232811637669592992.post-53381403249207832102011-05-06T10:46:16.607-04:002011-05-06T10:46:16.607-04:00The analog tapes I mentioned were the masters that...The analog tapes I mentioned were the masters that were stored in the archives. The comment about eight-tracks only underscores the argument about the danger of storing data on an electronic medium that can and usually do change in less than a decade. I have data on cassette tapes--not impossible to find a player, but difficult.Nick Sarantakeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08071764464888181459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232811637669592992.post-6443700999354203282011-05-05T13:29:22.715-04:002011-05-05T13:29:22.715-04:00Until the 1980s, music was recorded on analog tape...<i> Until the 1980s, music was recorded on analog tapes that were easy to retrieve </i><br /><br />I have some eight-track tapes to sell you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com