From: kyle@uunet.uu.net (Kyle Jones)
Subject: Re: Books that last
Organization: UUNET Technologies, Inc
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1992 21:15:06 GMT

bathurst@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Bruce Bathurst) writes:
 > I'm not a member of Mensa, but I've thought a bit about your
 > important question of what to do with those books that are degrading.
 > I'll extend the question to include not only acid books, but all
 > books.  For books take valuable space, yet they are multiplying today
 > like rabbits.
 > 
 > Well, let me ramble about the hardest questions last.
 > 
 > The first is fairly easy.  How many people enjoy reading a book in 
 > microform?  Why would anyone (except a scholar who wants the help of
 > a computer in performing a textual analysis) want to read a book on
 > a computer screen, if a paper copy were available?

You said it yourself, space savings.  I like owning copies of
books.  I have more books than I have proper storage space.
Having the books on electronic media means I have more space for
more books.

Also, you only start appreciate the convenience of elelctronic
storage after you've used it.  It's not just scholars that want
to search out quotations, allusions, and character references.

Also there's the matter of portability.  If I want to sit out in
a park and write, and want to have some standard references
handy, then I have to take several klunky books along.  CD-ROMs
make this a lot easier.

 > Last, most important, and no doubt thought silly by computer
 > fanatics: an unnatural appearing photograph, or a computer
 > reproduction of just the type of a page, lacks spirit. The medium in
 > which a book first appeared contributes greatly to the content: the
 > size, cover impressions, thickness, typographical design,
 > advertisements in the back, frayed corners, and scribbles by owners
 > make a book come alive in one's hand. Using the original medium makes
 > the reader a part of the long and respected history of the book; it
 > brings the scholar into his or her place as keeping the flame of
 > civilization alive in the year 1992.  It gives one a sense of deep
 > satisfaction to be a contributor to something very honorable and much
 > greater than oneself.  Reading a computer screen is a spiritless act.
 > Getting even a glimpse of what the page really looked like from a
 > microform is like asking to have the family photos posterized (for
 > you who know photography).

The same argument probably was made abotu the printing press.
Calligraphy and handwriting will become a lost art, etc, etc.
Losing the ability to salivate over gold leaf edged parchment is
worth it if books become more accessible and usable.  As long as
there is a human spirit, There will always be art.  Information
is more hard won, and therefore must be more thoroughly
safegaurded from loss.  Both art and information are important,
but information is the more important of the two.

 > No one has moved into the age of computers but those writing editorials
 > on this subject.

Not true, but that's not the point anyway.  The point is that we
have better information storage technology and we should be
trying to lose it before we lose more art or information!  even
if the books have to stored in a suboptimal way now, it's better
to do this than to lose them altogether.

 > With this assumption in mind, one can envisage the first adequate
 > substitute for the book.  (Adequate only, because it doesn't improve
 > upon the book.)
 > 
 > It is light to carry, and roughly 10 inches long, 8 inches wide, and
 > 1 or 2 inches thick.  It is of very high quality, but inexpensive,
 > and folds open in the center to two flat, extreme resolution,
 > flickerless screens that appear as illuminated paper when activated.

I don't think duplicating a fold-open book would represent the
best design.  Books seem to be optimized more for storage than
use.  I'd want one screen of enough resolution to do justice to
the average photograph or illustration.  Some sort of grip should
beon the side or the back to make it easy to hold and it should
have a couple of buttons to flip pages and maybe a few buttons to
control text string searches.