Opinion: Would you destroy physical book in exchange for a electronic version?

[NightGeometry]

I'd destroy it happily, I try not to fetishise books For me the e-book has more utility than the p-book and is likely more resilient.

As pre other posters though - I'd rather keep the p- and e-version.

[askyn]

Originally Posted by Shaggy

I don't understand. What's the point of destroying the physical copy?

Great discussion going on here, just wanted to chime in on this one question.

My original idea was that you would be converting your PB to electronic version, to prevent / keep the discussion on topic vs have a discussion about multiple copies of the same book floating around, I perposed that the hard copy would be destroyed in exchange for a copy of the electronic version.

That way you would have paid for one copy, and destroyed the physical for electronic version, thus still only having one copy.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by askyn

My original idea was that you would be converting your PB to electronic version, to prevent / keep the discussion on topic vs have a discussion about multiple copies of the same book floating around, I perposed that the hard copy would be destroyed in exchange for a copy of the electronic version.

Except the hard copy is not quite "destroyed" in conversion, even among the chop-and-scan crowd; if the margins are wide enough, the book could be rebound with a comb binding, or hole-punched and placed in a binder. And even if not, the pages could be clipped or rubberbanded, and read carefully.

The "electronic version" is generally several "copies:" initial scans, edited scans, copied into OCR program, exported version, possibly in several filetypes. So it's not a case of "I had one paper copy; now I have one electronic copy." I had one paper copy; now I have a damaged paper copy, a set of 400dpi scans, a set of 400dpi scans deskewed & despeckled, the same scans inside the FineReader program, the text version in the FineReader program, the exported searchable PDF, the exported HTML file, the exported Word doc, the edited RTF doc where I've changed the formatting, and the ePub version created from that. (Hypothetically. I don't believe I've done those exact steps with any one book.)

One of the things copyright activists are fighting for is a legal right to make multiple archive copies during digital processing; right now, it's blurry.

[GreenMonkey]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

Except the hard copy is not quite "destroyed" in conversion, even among the chop-and-scan crowd; if the margins are wide enough, the book could be rebound with a comb binding, or hole-punched and placed in a binder. And even if not, the pages could be clipped or rubberbanded, and read carefully.

The "electronic version" is generally several "copies:" initial scans, edited scans, copied into OCR program, exported version, possibly in several filetypes. So it's not a case of "I had one paper copy; now I have one electronic copy." I had one paper copy; now I have a damaged paper copy, a set of 400dpi scans, a set of 400dpi scans deskewed & despeckled, the same scans inside the FineReader program, the text version in the FineReader program, the exported searchable PDF, the exported HTML file, the exported Word doc, the edited RTF doc where I've changed the formatting, and the ePub version created from that. (Hypothetically. I don't believe I've done those exact steps with any one book.)

One of the things copyright activists are fighting for is a legal right to make multiple archive copies during digital processing; right now, it's blurry.

Easy enough to destroy the paper book (fire?) and the multiple copies of the ebook when you're done with the final epub.

Personally, I'll be in this situation eventually myself for a few paperback books. I'll probably donate the book to the library (they will probably sell it via a fundraising book sale). I can't justify this morally ("What if everyone did this?")...but like Worldwalker, I have a bad reaction to the idea of destroying a book just to destroy it.

[SolRaven]

Originally Posted by askyn

Here is the scenario:

This is totally hypothetical, I’m not offering to do it etc etc, just starting a discussion on it.

You "know" someone or have a friend that has an ebook version of current best seller that isn’t offered electronically, for arguments sake we say that they bought the book / scanned / formatted etc all for their use ONLY.
Would you buy a physical copy, and exchange it for a copy of the ebook version, as long as the physical copy was destroyed?

So:
1) Electronic copy was made destroying physical copy.
2) You buy physical copy to be traded for ebook version
3) The physical book is destroyed to prevent “extra” copys / in exchange for the ebook verison.

I wouldn't have a problem doing that with a paperback. I don't care for them. Other than reference books and similar, once I read a paperback, I get rid of it. I have novels that I've read in paperback, then later bought a hard cover to put on my shelf.

[jamesbeat]

I'm in the process of doing this myself right now with a set of 14 books from my childhood.
My original copies were heavily used, and the glue has cracked. You can't turn a page without it coming off in your hand.
I bought a complete new set a few years ago because the originals are falling apart so badly. This set has since been donated to a kid who I hope enjoys them as much as I did.

The books have great sentimental value, but no monetary value, so I decided to cut and scan them.
Actually, there is no need to cut them, I have just been pulling the pages out by hand because the glue is so bad.

I feel like the best thing I can do for these books is give them a new lease of life by turning them into ebooks. The books may have 'died', but they will live on indefinitely now.

I am toying with the idea of rebinding them once they are scanned, so they will not be destroyed but repaired.
If that doesn't work out, I'll keep the covers in a folder so I can look at them if I'm in a nostalgic mood.

I emigrated from the UK to the States, and I sold off or discarded all of my books except for these ones.
The fact that I couldn't take my books with me was my reason for buying an ereader in the first place.

I used to be one of those people who couldn't bear the idea of losing any of my books, but I was surprised to find that I didn't care as long as I had an electronic version. Nobody was more surprised about this than me, and now I see keeping all those books as hoarding behavior.

If this seems strange or abhorrent, think of all those people who turn their noses up at ereaders, claiming that they couldn't enjoy reading a book unless it was made of paper.
I don't know of anyone who retained this opinion after actually trying an ebook.

I now feel the same way about keeping and storing paper books. I couldn't go back to owning many hunderds of books ever again.

The one concession I am making is that I am gradually making a collection of those 14 books in hardcover first editions. I will own exactly 14 paper books, and no more

The way I see it, people have two reasons for owning books; a storage medium for words, and a collector's item in its own right.

My reason for owning books turned out primarily to be as a storage medium, which has now been surpassed by the electronic form.
My collection of the hardcover first editions is the second type.
I'll probably never read them, because I've been spoiled by ebooks and no longer have the will or desire to read paper ones.

In my opinion, it's only a crime to destroy a book if the book is somehow rare or valuable, or has some artistic merit above and beyond its ability to store words.
Mass market paperbacks?
I say cut 'em, scan 'em and toss 'em, and then use the space they used to occupy for something more worthwhile

Another thing that I occsionally do is buy a copy of a book just to cut and scan it.
Many of the 60's and 70's sci fi books that I like are ubiquitous in paperback form on auction sites, but are unavailable as ebooks, with little or no chance of ever becoming available.

I'm quite happy to pay $5 for the paperback and destroy it to get the ebook.
With the number of copies available, I have no qualms about destroying one of them.

So, to actually answer the original question, yes, if I didn't scan my own books, I would buy a copy to be destroyed in order to obtain an otherwise unobtainable electronic version.

[Anthem]

No.

(P.S. none of my friends would do such a thing/they have never done anything wrong. )

[shanghaichica]

It depends on how good the ebook version was.

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by Nyssa

To scan it in order to make an e-book copy.

I don't think that was the scenario though.

My interpretation of the "hypothetical" scenario is that their friend buys a pBook and destroys it in order to scan it. Then the poster buys a second pBook and "trades" it for a copy of the friend's eBook.

I don't get the point of destroying the second pBook. Am I missing something?

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by askyn

My original idea was that you would be converting your PB to electronic version, to prevent / keep the discussion on topic vs have a discussion about multiple copies of the same book floating around, I perposed that the hard copy would be destroyed in exchange for a copy of the electronic version.

I was confused by the whole "friend" part of it then, which further complicates the issue. Are you converting the pBook to an eBook yourself?

If you are converting it yourself, then there is no requirement in US copyright law that says you have to destroy the pBook in order to make your own eBook. It's just a side effect because the most practical/easiest way to do so right now involves effectively destroying the book. If you could make an eBook copy from your own pBook without harming the pBook, there would be nothing illegal about it.

If you are not converting it yourself, but obtaining a copy of the eBook from your friend, then according to copyright law your friend is not an authorized distributor, so regardless of whether or not you destroy your pBook, it is still illegal for them to give you a copy of the eBook.

In either case, destroying the pBook doesn't really make a difference as far as what is "right" vs "wrong".

[The Terminator]

If I have bought a p-book and I'm going traveling and wan't to take a few books and that being one of them I would have no problem getting it for free.

[The Terminator]

As far as cut and scan go, why not just get them off the internet? You have the book YOU have paid for the right to read it, so why not?

[The Terminator]

But pirating without having the book already I don't really agree with.

[Polyphemus]

Originally Posted by Astrakan

That's a position I can agree with. I'd consider it on the same level as not rebuying MP3s of songs you already own on CD.

Same as if you own the LP version.

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by THE TERMINATOR

If I have bought a p-book and I'm going traveling and wan't to take a few books and that being one of them I would have no problem getting it for free.

There are many on here who would agree, including myself.

IMO, those who disagree are just nit picking over the details. The end result is the same regardless of whether you make your own conversion to an eBook, or get somebody else to do it for you.