Help with long term access and content preservation

[jrabbit12]

Hello,
I am a library graduate student beginning research for an Archives and Media course. I wanted to jump into ebooks but didn't anticipate all the file formats in addition to devices! I'm wondering what the discussion in the community is about the preservation of straight-to-epublised works and how migration between devices and file formats is being anticipated.

Anything information or personal opinions will be helpful/appreciated.

Thanks!

[HarryT]

Why do you say "all the formats"? There are only two formats that matter: Kindle (by far the largest number of sales) and ePub, and converting between these is trivial. I don't really see where the problem lies.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Why do you say "all the formats"? There are only two formats that matter: Kindle (by far the largest number of sales) and ePub.

I'd add PDF for some non-fiction and academic texts.

[cromag]

... And then you archive them as you would any other file. I use an external hard drive and I periodically burn a CD. And I have some informal copies of recent purchases on SD cards.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

I'd add PDF for some non-fiction and academic texts.

If we're talking about electronic documents in general, then yes, PDF is important. As you say, it's the standard format for academic papers, etc.

[Froide]

Originally Posted by jrabbit12

Hello,
I am a library graduate student beginning research for an Archives and Media course. I wanted to jump into ebooks but didn't anticipate all the file formats in addition to devices! I'm wondering what the discussion in the community is about the preservation of straight-to-epublised works and how migration between devices and file formats is being anticipated.

Anything information or personal opinions will be helpful/appreciated.

Thanks!

RE: about the preservation of straight-to-epublised works

Not long ago, there was a discussion within one of the MobileRead Forums > E-Book General > General Discussions > threads about which ebook format would last longest. I think the consensus was: format doesn't matter. What does matter is that one backs up his/her files, redundantly, and maintains the software/apps/devices necessary to read or convert files that eventually become obsolete. Also discussed was file size: some files are more compact than others. Tour through the threads I've indicated above, and I think you'll find the one I'm talking about fairly easily.

RE: about [...] how migration between devices and file formats is being anticipated.

The above-mentioned discussion addresses means of sharing files among different platforms, cites ebook conversion tools such as calibre, and alludes to DRM-stripping methods. I suggest you look for the threads on Mobileread that discuss calibre as well as find discussions, at other sites, that discuss DRM-stripping (the specifics of which may not be discussed at Mobileread).

[ShellShock]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned DRM; I think we all assume that any DRM is removed first before attempting to "preserve" an ebook, i.e. it is not safe to assume you will always be able to read a DRM encrypted ebook.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ShellShock

I am surprised that no one has mentioned DRM; I think we all assume that any DRM is removed first before attempting to "preserve" an ebook

Of course we do, yes. All bets are off when DRM enters the equation.

[Froide]

Originally Posted by ShellShock

I am surprised that no one has mentioned DRM; I think we all assume that any DRM is removed first before attempting to "preserve" an ebook, i.e. it is not safe to assume you will always be able to read a DRM encrypted ebook.

I did mention DRM in the second part of my post, immediately above yours, in which I referred the OP to MR threads that discuss that topic in more detail and to other forums to read discussions about the how-to's.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by ShellShock

I am surprised that no one has mentioned DRM; I think we all assume that any DRM is removed first before attempting to "preserve" an ebook, i.e. it is not safe to assume you will always be able to read a DRM encrypted ebook.

Yep, DRM is part of the discussion, but we can't discuss it in detail here at MR. For that you have to Google Apprentice Alf as it's a rule that the subject can't be discussed in any detail here at MR.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by jrabbit12

Hello,
I am a library graduate student beginning research for an Archives and Media course. I wanted to jump into ebooks but didn't anticipate all the file formats in addition to devices! I'm wondering what the discussion in the community is about the preservation of straight-to-epublised works and how migration between devices and file formats is being anticipated.

Anything information or personal opinions will be helpful/appreciated.

Thanks!

To get up to speed on digital preservation from a library point of view, you might want to read up on the LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) project at Stanford.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LOCKSS

http://www.lockss.org/

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by cromag

... And then you archive them as you would any other file. I use an external hard drive and I periodically burn a CD. And I have some informal copies of recent purchases on SD cards.

Making sure that your copies of your books don't disappear before you do is a different problem than preventing a book from disappearing completely.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Why do you say "all the formats"? There are only two formats that matter: Kindle (by far the largest number of sales) and ePub, and converting between these is trivial. I don't really see where the problem lies.

Those "trivial" conversions are not necessarily lossless, especially with respect to images.