Will the Classics Soon Go Out of Print?

[Terrence]

Some years ago I lost my copy of Anthony Trollope’s “The Last Chronicle of Barset” and I went to a bookstore to get a fresh copy. There were none on the shelves, but they eventually found me a copy. It cost about $ 15. A few months later I bought a Kindle and discovered that I could download the eBook version of this book for free.

There are voluntary, non-profit organisations that have uploaded 19th century and some early 20th century books into the internet that can be downloaded free. They are books in the public domain. You can even download free, audio versions of many of these books.

Though many might like to read off physical books, can they afford this luxury when eBooks are available for free? Hence, the demand for physical books that are in the public domain will diminish and it may become economically unfeasible for publishers to print these books.

Hence, the big question: will the classics soon go out of print?

[Ahtims]

Perhaps not for the next 30 years or so. I didnt find any difficulty in obtaining physical books so far, though they are becoming costlier day by day. In fact I always see Anthony Trollope books stacked in shelves whichever bookstall I visit, especially Barchester Tower series.

[Ahtims]

And I always have the urge to possess the physical copy of a book I love, and sometimes end up buying books after reading the E version.
And as am not that big a bookworm i guess that there are many many more far worse than me, and as long as such people exist, print books, even classics will not go out of distribution.