Will e-book readers make your library obsolete?

[Phogg]

My wife doesn't put things away very well. She as bad as the kids ever were, and she reads 2 or three books at a time. I am not perfect either.






Books make clutter. This is just one wall in the living room. (sorry about the blurryness the only camera I have working is my cell)

I look forward to replacing EVERYTHING with electronic version. The bookcases are in the process of going away. I just need readers in various places around the house and we will be set.

[zelda_pinwheel]

i have some books that i will always keep in paper (art books for instance or some really nice editions, just because they are beautiful objects and i appreciate them for that) but i am trying very hard to replace as many of my old, dusty, disintegrating paperbacks as possible. i still have a long way to go but i can't wait for the day when i don't have bookshelves crammed into every possible centimetre of wallspace and STILL have piles of books all over the house.

in fact, i think i'll go give a few to the library today.

the paper apologists seem to forget that for all their history, paper books are actually *not* a very good medium for long-term storage, and the ergonomy leaves to be desired as well... they do have qualities of course, and i love some books-as-objects, but they can be improved upon (i think an e-ink liseuse is a huge improvement) and i am happy to see these improvements finally appearing.

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

the paper apologists seem to forget that for all their history, paper books are actually *not* a very good medium for long-term storage

You are joking, of course?

Books have lasted hundreds of years, much longer than any ebook format, which could become obsolete tomorrow, could hope for.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by akira28

You are joking, of coarse?

Books can last hundreds of years, much longer than any ebook format which could become obsolete tomorrow.

really ? tell that to my hundreds of cheap paperbacks, whose pages are yellowed and litterally crumbling, whose spines have come unglued, and which fall apart completely if you pick them up wrong. those books are not even 30 years old and they're barely recognizeable as books. most of them are not even worth giving away ; as soon as i replace them, i'll have to put them in the trash.

[Barcey]

Timely. I just finished hauling over half my personal library to a community fund raising book sale. I would have taken more but I ran out of boxes. I expect by this time next year it will all be gone except for a few (gifts, art books etc...). It was easier then I thought it would be and I need the space.

One thing I regret is that I didn't take an inventory of all the books before I got rid of them. Most of my paperback books were two deep in the shelves so I hadn't looked at them in over 15 years. I had forgotten I'd read some of them.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by Barcey

One thing I regret is that I didn't take an inventory of all the books before I got rid of them. Most of my paperback books were two deep in the shelves so I hadn't looked at them in over 15 years. I had forgotten I'd read some of them.

aha. excellent point, and good timing. i'm about to go donate about 20 books to the library for the next book exchange ; i'll write down the titles first. thanks ! too bad i didn't think of doing that before, since i've already given away over 50 books (i'm not sure how many, but a lot) but i've still got plenty to go...

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

really ? tell that to my hundreds of cheap paperbacks, whose pages are yellowed and litterally crumbling, whose spines have come unglued, and which fall apart completely if you pick them up wrong. those books are not even 30 years old and they're barely recognizeable as books. most of them are not even worth giving away ; as soon as i replace them, i'll have to put them in the trash.

I hear ya. Had a few of those myself. But if it's a good book I have replaced it with a hardback or cloth version, one with acid free paper. I almost never buy mass market paperbacks. Many times I usually get ebooks as backup copies to ones I already own.

I recently visited Washington D.C. and saw Jefferson's Library. Amazing. I love old books.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by akira28

I hear ya. Had a few of those myself. But if it's a good book I have replaced it with a hardback or cloth version, one with acid free paper. I almost never buy mass market paperbacks. Many times I usually get ebooks as backup copies to ones I already own.

I recently visited Washington D.C. and saw Jefferson's Library. Amazing. I love old books.

yes, i can understand that, although i don't personally have the space or the money to do that. but the point is, if you want a book to last more than 30 years, special care must be taken, starting with the choice of paper and binding (and a lot of paperbacks are not made to last, at all), and then you must be careful to store it appropriately where it won't be damaged by humidity (mold) or excessively dry air (disintegration)... often i think people don't take that into account when they say a paper book can last hundreds of years. i wish it were that simple !

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by =X=

Not sure if I agree. I'm in agreement more with Bezos, paper will not go away just like horses have not gone away. There will always be a use for them, just not mainstream. ...
I think this will happen in about 10 years.
=X=

About 60% of homes in the USA have a computer. (55% a few years ago; I've heard the 60% number on tv news recently.)

The other 40%, including half of the African American and Latino population, will not be replacing their pbooks with ebooks anytime soon.

I think people who've had computers for 10 years or more, and those who work in technical industries where computers are everywhere, tend to think "everyone has them" and forget that there are huge sections of the populace who do not. (I'm occasionally guilty of this.) This is especially true in rural areas and less-developed nations. And I don't expect dedicated ebook devices to get any notable penetration into the non-computer-owning market.

However, I do expect big changes in the pbook industries soon. The high-tech, high-disposable-income customers are the category most likely to switch to ebooks, and that's a very important demographic for publishers. Some types of pbooks will probably be made less as publishers realize their customers are more likely to buy ebook versions. However, until ebooks make good gifts, I don't think they'll start to dominate any section of the marketplace.

(I know some places allow ebook purchases as gifts. As far as I've been able to sort out, they all have hassles. And I don't think any of them have come up with the idea of a free, printable PDF "gift card" that says "You have an Ebook! [pic of book cover] [Title] by [Author] is available for you to download at [url]!)

[GeoffC]

My primary reason for getting a reader was because books no longer fit in the available spaces in my house. My only issue, now, is that much of our current library is not yet available in e-format of any description; one reason my better half is reluctant to get one herself .....

[boydcarts]

I've loved books all my life, but like many people have noted already, storage can be an issue. Storage became such an issue for me that I essentially stopped buying books a few years ago, which greatly cut down the number of books I read. I've had my eReader for 3 months now and I've read more books in that time than I did all of last year. Also, thanks to project Guttenberg, I can now try loads of classsics that I may have been hesitant to buy even if storage wasn't an issue.
I think there will always be a place for paper books, but it will be primarily for those instances where the book is more than just the words on the page.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by Phogg

My wife doesn't put things away very well. She as bad as the kids ever were, and she reads 2 or three books at a time. I am not perfect either.






Books make clutter. This is just one wall in the living room. (sorry about the blurryness the only camera I have working is my cell)

I look forward to replacing EVERYTHING with electronic version. The bookcases are in the process of going away. I just need readers in various places around the house and we will be set.

That picture could be our office. I've actually gotten rid of most of my books but my husband is more emotionally attached to his. We've cataloged and boxed a fair number but there are still shelves and shelves stacked two deep and two high. I have terrible dust allergies and keeping all that well clear of dust is practically impossible. I'd prefer to get rid of most of them. I have a case or two of tech books, cookbooks, maybe a couple shelves of old friends. Other than that, it's just clutter.

[Sparhawk2k]

Unless all my eBooks are in a format I can loan out to friends regularly I'll still have plenty of paper books...

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

How about

"NO, e-books and paper books can co-exist beautifully"?

That would be my vote. I don't get newsprint on my fingers, so I wasn't able to vote.

I'm kind of with you here. I have a bookcase full - that I've collected mostly second hand in the last four years since I've moved. But as I've mentioned several times, when I moved from Texas to Illinois, my books had to stay because I couldn't afford to ship them (and since the move was due to a divorce, my ex sure wasn't willing to help!).
My Chris now has no objection to books, and would willingly cover every inch of available wallspace with bookshelves for me, but if/when we do eventually move, the sheer bulk factor made me want to "rebuild" my library with ebooks. I still pick up pbooks at garage sales and second hand stores, and occasionally a new title if I run across one I can't live without (the last book in the Dresden series comes to mind, because I already had the other nine books in hardback physical form). But for the most part, I now buy in electronic form, and store them in three places: My SD card for the EZ Reader, my PC, and on disc. There are also a few on my BlackBerry.
I have managed to rebuild a few authors' complete collections, and that makes me very happy. I bought the four Barbara Michaels titles I was missing last week. . So - while I won't be getting rid of what's in my bookcase, I probably won't be adding to it nearly as fast as I would if I didn't have my reader.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

How about

"NO, e-books and paper books can co-exist beautifully"?

I agree... I would vote for that too. My book shelf now has so much more room for hard covers of favorites and for programming, tehcnical and references books. But, all MMP have been pulled from the shelves and will be donated, sold or trashed come this spring cleaning season.

BOb