Do you always keep the original file of your books?

[FizzyWater]

I keep the originals. It's probably ridiculous, but they're my proof that I actually paid for my eBooks.

It's like keeping the original CDs after copying them to MP3s (without having to take up physical space!)

[banjobama]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

I keep the originals. It's probably ridiculous, but they're my proof that I actually paid for my eBooks.

It's like keeping the original CDs after copying them to MP3s (without having to take up physical space!)

How is the original copy proof that you paid for it? Wouldn't you need a receipt for that?

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by banjobama

How is the original copy proof that you paid for it? Wouldn't you need a receipt for that?

Well, the PDB files have the social DRM that's tied to my name and credit card number.

The ePubs are tied to my AdobeID.

So, with the old PDBs, it's actually obvious that I did purchase them.

It may not matter...since format shifting isn't officially legal...but it's important to me. Especially since at least one of the sites I used to buy them from stopped selling ebooks.

[ghostyjack]

I keep the originals as long as they are either ePub, Mobi or PDF. If they are another format, like say, LIT, I'll delete them once I'm happy with my replacement ePub file.

[EowynCarter]

Yes, just in case I screw up when editing.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Catlady

You must not have a lot of video and audio files!

I was thinking the same thing. 1TB is not very much when you start storing video.

[Apache]

I am also among the Keepers of the Originals.
Apache

[pdurrant]

I keep originals. It's unlikely I'll ever need them, but the storage requirement is tiny.

[Catlady]

I was keeping originals, but I just started deleting them. The stuff I bought from Amazon, BN, Kobo, Sony, etc. is in the store account. Why would I need the original on my computer?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I was keeping originals, but I just started deleting them. The stuff I bought from Amazon, BN, Kobo, Sony, etc. is in the store account. Why would I need the original on my computer?

Because assuming that it'll be in the store account "forever" is very foolish. It won't be. If you want to keep something, keep it in a storage location that's under your direct control.

[DianNC]

I mostly buy from amazon and convert for my Nook. I thought about deleting the originals but decided it was too much trouble. When I bring up K4PC, they're all right there anyway.

[Pookeysgirl]

I keep everything, but I only backup the books I've converted in Calibre. Those are the important ones to me.

[stop__dreaming]

Yep. I have an external hard drive which is sorted in folders by author name and everything goes in there. As mentioned previously, more harm to delete than to keep and I back-up every few weeks or so with anything new I bring in.

[toomuchreading]

I have 2 reasons for not keeping the originals of books. I back up my Calibre library on a regular basis. With the backup, I don't worry about loosing anything. As well, my originals are all over the place, so as I load books into Calibre, I'm deleting the original, thus cleaning up my system as I go. Doing this also lets me know what books I havn't loaded the book into Calibre. If it's still on my system outside of the Calibre library, then I haven't loaded the file. I don't worry about the file formats, because I know Calibre can handle the conversion to epub when I need it.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Because assuming that it'll be in the store account "forever" is very foolish. It won't be. If you want to keep something, keep it in a storage location that's under your direct control.

But I have my converted copy, and a backup of the converted copy. I'm just not seeing the point of also having the original downloaded version on my computer, if it was sold by one of the major bookstores.