Thus libraries with Gov Docs holdings often had huge collections that were made up in large part of microfiche and single page items.
That's one of my puzzles... when I count up how many ebooks I have/have read, do I include the court docs I've reformatted for the ebook reader? I've even reprinted some of them; I've got the Prop 8 trial ruling arranged for printing on half-letter-sized paper as a booklet that's a lot easier to read than the original double-spaced thing.
I want to convert the transcripts, but that's a longer project. And if I put them all together, do I count that as 1 book, or as 13 to match the original volume count? (Omnibus editions: one more area where the concept of "book" and "ebook" have problems. I bought the Nell Sweeney Historical Mysteries, which is six-books-in-one. Can't do that with paper.)
"Digital download" may be more accurate, but I suspect we're stuck with the term "ebook." I just expect a lot of confusion over the next year or two, as tablets & ereaders get a bit more versatile and a whole bunch of people have to start realizing that what separates a "book" from a "document" is no longer a simple objective matter.
In print, books are bound, with wire & comb bindings being borderline conditions of book-hood; if it's held together with a staple or paperclip, it's "not a book." People have been vaguely thinking that if it's in epub or mobi format, it's an "ebook," and word docs & html files are "not ebooks," with PDF being the fence-straddler.
I expect it to only take a few months for someone to code "download this blog in publication-chrono order in epub/mobi format." LJbook.com could do it with a bit of tweaking.
I don't envy the mainstream traditional publishers. I saw a note somewhere that mentioned how the automobile destroyed the railroad industry: the railroad tycoons thought they were in the railroad business, competing with each other, and failed to realize they were in the transportation business, competing with a lot of things that weren't railroads. And modern book publishers are in the entertainment and information businesses ... the "book" part of that is going to be yanked out from under them if they don't wake up.
no subject
That's one of my puzzles... when I count up how many ebooks I have/have read, do I include the court docs I've reformatted for the ebook reader? I've even reprinted some of them; I've got the Prop 8 trial ruling arranged for printing on half-letter-sized paper as a booklet that's a lot easier to read than the original double-spaced thing.
I want to convert the transcripts, but that's a longer project. And if I put them all together, do I count that as 1 book, or as 13 to match the original volume count? (Omnibus editions: one more area where the concept of "book" and "ebook" have problems. I bought the Nell Sweeney Historical Mysteries, which is six-books-in-one. Can't do that with paper.)
"Digital download" may be more accurate, but I suspect we're stuck with the term "ebook." I just expect a lot of confusion over the next year or two, as tablets & ereaders get a bit more versatile and a whole bunch of people have to start realizing that what separates a "book" from a "document" is no longer a simple objective matter.
In print, books are bound, with wire & comb bindings being borderline conditions of book-hood; if it's held together with a staple or paperclip, it's "not a book." People have been vaguely thinking that if it's in epub or mobi format, it's an "ebook," and word docs & html files are "not ebooks," with PDF being the fence-straddler.
I expect it to only take a few months for someone to code "download this blog in publication-chrono order in epub/mobi format." LJbook.com could do it with a bit of tweaking.
I don't envy the mainstream traditional publishers. I saw a note somewhere that mentioned how the automobile destroyed the railroad industry: the railroad tycoons thought they were in the railroad business, competing with each other, and failed to realize they were in the transportation business, competing with a lot of things that weren't railroads. And modern book publishers are in the entertainment and information businesses ... the "book" part of that is going to be yanked out from under them if they don't wake up.