Is there some sort of "cut off" between paper and electronic publication?

RWB

Do forum members feel that some sizes or types of books/articles/monographs are best in print, or best in electronic versions?

garrynot

I am too old school, I guess. I prefer hard copy books, catalogs and magazines. Electronic versions are too difficult to read, Coin World, for example, and too hard on my eyes.

llafoe

I want them both... I'm old school too and love to have, see and touch a "real" book. But when I read, I prefer an electronic version where I can do a "Ctrl F" and search for what interests me that day.

Steve27

Anything short-lived such as information on Mint release dates or auction info, I like in electronic formats. But if it's reference material, I prefer hard-copy.

Coinosaurus

My view is that the more original research should appear in hardcopy (ie. the more durable media) and the lighter stuff should be electronic.

Or to look at it another way, the cost of creating the content (research time, travel, etc.) should be proportional to the cost of distributing it.

Obviously there are some exceptions. Certain kinds of work are more subject to change than others - for these a "living" electronic format may be better.

Bochiman

I prefer my hands on a book, the old way, but there are times that the size makes it too cumbersome, and, if pictures are involved, then they may not be the best or may really increase the printing costs.
I also like electronic versions (I don't have a kindle or eyepad or nook, just laptops and desktops) in the way that I can take them with me when I travel, easily do a search for what I think I remember (sorry, but I can't just open a real book and always easily and quickly find what I am looking for), and they don't get damaged and make me feel bad.

RWB

I’m kind of slow on the uptake, but when adding together multiple threads over the past year or two, opinions seem to center on what has been mentioned above. “Significant” and “new” material needs a permanent media that can be located regardless of electronics/internet, etc. “Ephemeral” and “short-term” or “derivative” material is better distributed electronically, even if it might not be available 25 years in the future.

Coinosaurus

To draw a computer engineering analogy, the high-value, frequently referred to information is kept in a cache (books on bookshelves next to the desk) while the less frequently accessed material (google, online resources) has to be searched out & has slower access time.

wayneherndon

Don't try too hard to define the line. It is moving more and more to electronic every day. Each successive generation is more comfortable with digital media than the one that went before it be that music, movies, magazines, newspapers, or research. Take a look at where that school library classic Encyclopedia Britannica is today (predominately online). We are becoming a more mobile society and with tools such as iPads and iPhones becoming more widely used, the race to digital media is going ever faster. Think about how many books even a Bust and Seated specialist has to take to a show. It would be so much easier if that information were easily accessible digitally from a e-tablet that could be carried around the bourse floor.

My suggestion is to err on the side of larger and sooner adoption of digital media rather than smaller and later (although I do believe numismatics will follow, not lead the migration).

WH

firstmint

I remember when Heritage came out with the first American numismatic auction CD in 2000. It was copied from the European company USB, who had created numismatic auction CD's the year before.

I liked the idea and thought it would take off. It didn't. After 5-6 years, they weren't even included in the printed catalogues as had been done earlier.

I'm a researcher and literature person who values information, regardless of where it comes from, but my library of printed books, (as with other numismatists around the world) will be around as long as possible.

Coinosaurus

When I got home today there was a big box from an excessively prominent collector on my doorstep. I didn't know what was coming so I ripped it open to find out. It was a print-on-demand picture book of a whole bunch of condition consensus coins in their collection. I had seen them all before on CD, but the impact of the book was simply stunning. It made so much more of an impression when presented in hardcopy. Maybe this difference is lost on the younger generation and they don't care between paper and computer screen? It still makes a huge difference for us old farts (I am a 47 year old computer professional).

I do agree with Wayne that attribution guides on an iPad-type device would be very well-received on the bourse floor. But this is only one segment of the numismatic book market.

wayneherndon

Amazon recently announced that they sold more eBooks in the fourth quarter of 2010 than paperbacks.

Coin World and the Numismatist are both publishing electronic versions. So is the Greysheet. I prefer all three to their paper counterparts. For one thing, the information arrives more timely in all three cases. Aside from these three publications and a few books on DVD from Krause, one from Whitman and a few other scattered publishers, there isn't much available in electronic media in numismatics. This is certainly slowing the conversion to e-media in numismatics. However, as more and more collectors and dealers rely on their Kindles, smart phones and tablets for their other reading material they will begin to demand e-media for numismatics as well.

As an advertiser, I also prefer e-media to paper media. It is difficult to get a click to a website from a print ad and even more difficult to convert that click to a sale. With e-media, the collector reading the add need only click the URL or the phone number to immediately visit our sites or call us on their smart phone.

WH

RWB

Wayne brings up some good, practical points. Yep.... I tried clicking on a paper ad and nothing happened. Tried using one of those "clicker" things - not a peep. Even tried putting crickets on the page, but all they did was chirp and poop.

My last two publications have been entirely electronic: The Annual Assay Commission Minutes and Silver Dollars Struck Under the Pittman Act. The first would be impossibly expensive to print at 2,000 pages; and the second would have required huge folded pages in order to get the print big enough to read easily. Both are in PDF format and have ISBN numbers.

I guess it’s a book-by-book decision for now.

Analyst

GarryNot << Electronic versions are too difficult to read.>>

This remark is puzzling. All major Internet browsers have zoom functions. The reader can easily increase the size of the text and images. Indeed, the reader may choose just how large or small he or she wishes electronic text to be. Adobe Acrobat has a zoom function as well. Also, computer adjustments can be made.

IIafoe << But when I read, I prefer an electronic version where I can ... search for what interests me that day.>>

This makes perfect sense to me. There are many circumstances when I wish to search text for keywords that are on mind at the moment.

CoinOsaurus <<My view is that the more original research should appear in hardcopy (ie. the more durable media) and the lighter stuff should be electronic.>>

As IIafoe points out, it is easier to search electronic text. Further, an electronic version is not physically heavy. If a reference book is brought to a coin show, a library or a coin club meeting, it is more convenient for it to be in electronic format. Also, notebook computers that weigh around three pounds are very inexpensive.

I agree with RWB and CoinOSaurus in that certain kinds of books should be available in hard copy. The positive psychological effect of a good and large coin reference in physical book format is just hard to explain. Also, as RWB suggests, file formats and Internet protocols may change over time. Pertinent political or economic realities may change as well. Physical books may survive some episodes that electronic books do not. For example, use of the Internet may become more costly in the future, though I am not predicting that it will.

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