Re: Re. Death of paper

[David Jones/KSBEISD <David_Jones/KSBEISD -dot- KSBEISD -at- DATAHUB -dot- COM>]

Finally, a term for what I've always felt ... the "library fallacy."

The basic problem with depending on a library, or the Internet, for keeping
information is that someone else (the librarian, the Web site provider, etc)
controls what information is available. Too many times in the past, I've
forgone buying a book because it was available at the library -- only to find
that the library discarded it to make room for new books, or because it wasn't
circulated enough, or because it's not politically correct at the moment (who
says censorship is dead?), or because the librarian in charge had a personal
animosity toward the author's view on a subject.

Although it is easier to store a lot of info on a server, it still costs money
and storage space. So you can't depend on the server to continue to provide
particular information *you* consider important. It's best to maintain your own
version of a library, whether it's in hardcopy books or data files on your
computer.

BTW, this is one reason why I won't be putting any money into cheap Internet
appliances that require you to store your information on the ISP's server ...

JFOA.

David Jones, Technical Writer
David_Jones/KSBEISD -dot- KSBEISD -at- Datahub -dot- com
Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate

DISCLAIMER:
"I do not speak for my employer, my computer, or any other living thing."

From: geoff-h @ mtl.feric.ca @ Internet @ DATAHUB
Date: 03/27/96 03:53:20 PM
Subject: Re. Death of paper

 David Blyth noted <paraphrase> that paper dox are gradually
 being replaced by the internet and (by implication) other
 forms of online information. There's certainly some truth
 in this, but the overall conclusion is undermined by what I
 call the "library fallacy".

 In theory, a well-endowed public library makes it
 unnecessary to have any books at home. After all, the
 library can hold far more information on each topic, and
 far more topics, than my home. The price is right (it's
 invisible in my property taxes), and there are expert
 assistants to help me find what I need. On the other hand,
 I have to compete with hundreds or even thousands of others
 to get a copy of the information (anyone else encountering
 internet bandwidth problems?), I have to go out on snowy
 nights (anyone else hate taking their computer to bed?),
 and the place is usually closed when I want to find
 information (anyone had much luck getting onto the net
 during a power failure?), and so on. I can even catch a
 virus at my local library. Guess what? I've got a LARGE
 paper library at home, and don't hit the public library
 much.

 Death of paper? I'm not selling my forestry stocks just
 yet!

 --Geoff Hart    @8^{)}
 geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca

 Disclaimer: If I didn't commit it in print in one of our
 reports, it don't represent FERIC's opinion.