Quote:
Originally Posted by mjh215
Ebooks only supplement my library and will never replace it... Ebooks have replaced the paperback pulp books in my library, being the more 'disposable' format. Which makes room for more archival paper book formats.
Zelda; I have to disagree, books are not as fragile as most make them out to be. If you have modern living conditions suitable to people those can support books just fine for centuries. (Not acidic-pulp mind you) The average first world house built today is more stable then libraries and museums that housed the materials that are still with us. And recall it was not uncommon to have fireplaces, candles and gas lanterns, and direct sunlight in them (And people smoking  ). Most of the damage that destroyed works thru the years were caused by people, either directly or indirectly. When texts fell out of fashion they were moved to 'storage' in dank basements and warehouses where mold and rot took hold. Transportation was also a nasty culprit. If the library or home was not upkept I don't think of that as the fault of the media. I wouldn't trust a person to keep digital media or an electronic device from degrading if they can't manage to keep a book from degrading. And trusting any source or backup service to honour your license/ownership rights a few years down the road is laudible, considering how many times we've seen the laws change, and companies discontinue services over just the past ten years.
-MJ
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what you say is true of good quality books, sure. if you buy nice hardcovers (or good quality paperbacks, with sewn bindings and good paper) then a book can be quite durable.
however, my books are not stored in particularly extreme conditions (i live here too after all) but still, i have countless not-that-old paperbacks which are
literally falling to pieces : the glue of the binding doesn't hold anymore, so the pages fall out in clumps or individually, and the paper is yellow and brittle and sometimes just turning the page is enough to tear it, or the corner will actually break off in my fingers (and before you say it, i have a gentle touch).
the problem is a lot of books are
not made to last and i think often people don't make the distinction. some are, and i won't dispute that ; i also have some very nice books on good quality paper (which is still white and not brittle) and i think i can count on keeping them for many years to come, hopefully my whole life, for some of them. i'm not saying that books are all so poorly made and so fragile that the slightest exposure to indirect sunlight for more than 30 seconds will cause them to disintegrate. but they *are* nonetheless fragile, and some of them are not made to last, and those ones will certainly be outlived by digital media as long as you take the minimum precaution to keep access to it ; much like there are certain precautions you must take to preserve paper books.