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Out of Print

Posted July 14, 2011 1:18 PM

Kindles, iPads, Nooks, tablet PCs. Mobile devices are everywhere, with more data storage than ever before. Book and magazine digital availability is soaring. That's moved millions of readers to "mostly electronic," and opting to give up print editions of books and favorite periodicals. Now, South Korea is planning to digitize all textbooks by 2015, replacing print altogether in schools. How much longer before we can abandon print for most of our daily reading diet? Should we encourage it? Would it leave behind or disadvantage some segments of society?

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John Leader
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#1

Re: Out of Print

07/15/2011 12:34 AM

As a bibliophile I doubt that the printed word will disappear. A bigger problem though is that if you can Google all the worlds knowledge, how can you evaluate it? Furthermore, if there is only one provider of information, how can you be sure that what you get is the factual truth? Will there come a time when there is only one provider? If the Chinese government can shut down websites it doesnt like, why not others?

There is nothing like the 'feel' of a book, and this will be eternal. Use Google for factual information but for depth go to the book.

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Tornado
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#2
In reply to #1

Re: Out of Print

07/15/2011 3:36 AM

I agree. Scrolling down through a lengthy computer file (or ancient scroll) is much less pleasant and efficient than leafing through a book. I don't think that books will ever die. (Nor did Jorge Luis Borges.)

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r&ddoc
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#11
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Re: Out of Print

07/18/2011 1:36 PM

Scrolling down a computer file is like searching a book in the "Library of Babel" (JLB, 1941)

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bjournot
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#8
In reply to #1

Re: Out of Print

07/15/2011 1:56 PM

Agreed. While it might be more "efficient" to read everything electronically, paper has a certain feel/smell/sense about it. Hold on to your books! Who knows, if they DO stop printing, they could be worth a fortune someday. :)
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PWSlack
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#3

Re: Out of Print

07/15/2011 3:57 AM

It's all great - until the power goes off!

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alba16384
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#4

Re: Out of Print

07/15/2011 4:34 AM

Whilst electronic displays are acceptable for text only material e.g. most fiction, as soon as you need a diagram plus explanatary notes requiring two sheets to be visible simoultaneously, the system falls flat. Any diagram larger than A4 or Letter size is obviously impossible to show in its entirity.

Regards,

Tony Lee.

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Sleepy
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#5
In reply to #4

Re: Out of Print

07/15/2011 5:44 AM

alba,

Agreee, whole heartedly; additionally many of us need colour, many of us need larger Books, The Times Atlas is my biggest. Cannot imagine that in electronic format. It is already 18" by 12" and could do with being twice the size.

I also use tables, diagrams to much effect and will see these diminish as the electronic fomats take over.

I use an electronic book, as does my wife; primarily to enable us to take many books on a trip without wrecking the baggage allowance!

Sleepy
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#6

Re: Out of Print

07/15/2011 10:35 AM

There is still the problem of archiving and future readability. A textbook or any book printed on high quality acid free paper can still be read decades if not a century after publication. It's a bother to find a 3.5 inch floppy disk reader today. I wish you luck trying to read a Commodore 64's 5.25 floppy disk and that was only 30 years ago. Forget about being able to read a paper tape or a stack of punch cards. I'm not saying that digital readers will not proliferate in the coming years. They are very useful tools and I'm personally debating between buying a Nook or a Kindle.

But I am sorry to see that South Korea is planning to go fully digital for textbooks in 2015. Some South Korean professionals in 2025 will regret that their undergraduate textbook is in a format that they can no longer read.

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Mike Davis
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#7

Re: Out of Print

07/15/2011 12:00 PM

Try taking a computer to the bathroom to read while on the throne. Good luck with that! Long live paper books!!
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#9
In reply to #7

Re: Out of Print

07/15/2011 6:51 PM

They do not show the power plant but I hear it uses books to run a steam engine.

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Usbport
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#10

Re: Out of Print

07/16/2011 5:54 PM

I have a Kindle. I love it. I've got a couple dozen books on it that I can read anytime, many of which I downloaded instantly, for free, from Amazon's website.

BUT, when I really want to relax I enjoy lounging around reading a paperback.

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