Debates: VERSUS?
Provenance
Steve: Some argue that print books have provenance that ebooks lack, and that pixels are somehow more temporary than good old print on paper. This ignores the fact that books get wet or burnt, or the paper deteriorates. It also does not explain why libraries are now scanning important books, published before the rise of digital technologies, so that they can endure in a digital format.
John Parsons (john@intuideas.com), former Editorial Director of The Seybold Report, is an independent writer, ghostwriter, and editor. He is the co-author of the interactive printed textbook, Introduction to Graphic Communication, on the art, science and business of print, which has been adopted by Ryerson, Arizona State, the University of Houston, and many other schools and vocational training centers. Custom editions of the book are under consideration by major printing companies and franchises for internal training purposes.