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?

[Will]

One day, maybe. But I think we are a long way from e-readers taking over from print.

Technology doesn't always take over straight away. Computers haven't led to the paperless office. Emails haven't wholly replaced letters. The advent of quartz watches in the 1980s hasn't stopped us from buying mechanical watches which are less accurate, more expensive and need more maintenance.

Heck, even vinyl records and film cameras are making a comeback.

I think paper books are safe for quite a while yet.

[Jim]

Yes, just to agree with Will here. Not only that but for so long as it exists electronically, it can be back in 'print' within minutes. I think the border between what is and what isn't in print is getting fuzzy

[David]

Jim wrote: "Yes, just to agree with Will here. Not only that but for so long as it exists electronically, it can be back in 'print' within minutes. I think the border between what is and what isn't in print is..."

Especially with print on demand. Printing is no where near as expensive as it once was.

[Lydia]

The books menu has increased and not only with technology.
(Audio books are now more sought-after; inter-active texts are possible though not a large offering.)
As for bound books, there are now limited-run artisan editions available. Amazon's P.O.D operates in a different way from the traditional publishers' model, meaning single copies are possible and no High Street shop is necessary.

[Will]

Then there's the educational issue: until schools can afford to issue everyone with an ereader, print will be required.

[Jud]

There is a school over here that requires all new students to own an ipad for school use

[Kath]

Hi, Jud! *waves*

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Jud (Disney Diva) wrote: "There is a school over here that requires all new students to own an ipad for school use"

Wow!!

[Patti (baconater)]

Our school has 1 to 1 IT, iPad for lower grades, MacBooks for higher.

Included in the school fees, though.

Gotta say, makes a hell of a lot more sense for parents to spend money on stuff that will help their kids access the curriculum than on polyester cardies and shoes that meet the dress code.

Some screwed up priorities in education in the uk.

[G J (Gaff to my friends)]

I don't think the classics will ever go out of print as long as people aspire to owning and stocking their own libraries. Physical copies are still very much sought after, especially by those who still shun the electronic.

P.O.D is gaining in propularity as prices fall, but you'll never be able to get a new print for the price of a digital copy because of resources. I do think that the prices of physical books that aren't in demand will increase, but then the rarity of those books might also drive their value up in the future - kinda like buying an artwork.

[Vanessa (aka Dumbo)]

I wonder if anyone will set up a company who will print a book to your specification. As in choosing a font, cover, choice of illustrations, putting in a dedication etc. That might be popular.

[Will]

vanessa, there are plenty of companies specialising in very small runs who do that already. Personal memoirs, that sort of thing, keep them busy.

[Will]

And in the news today: ebook sales fall to their lowest level since 2011 as customers return to print citing 'screen fatigue'.

[Jim]

Will wrote: "And in the news today: ebook sales fall to their lowest level since 2011 as customers return to print citing 'screen fatigue'."

I saw that. For many people screens just mean work

[Patti (baconater)]

Will wrote: "And in the news today: ebook sales fall to their lowest level since 2011 as customers return to print citing 'screen fatigue'."

I call bullshit.

[Jim]

I see more people reading screens when I'm travelling, and a glimpse over the shoulder shows that it's not a text, but whether it's a 'book' or a 'work document' is less easy to tell :-)

I'm not convinced either way, too many prophets have been proclaiming that print/ebooks are dead/dying/triumphant for too many years

[Tim]

The paperless office never happened, similarly I don't see print books disappearing.

[Victoria]

I think paper books will always be preferable for studying. It's easier to flip backwards and forwards looking for specific passages, and to stick in Post It notes, with paper copies. One can have two texts open side by side too, which isn't so easy with an e-device.

[Patti (baconater)]

Many of my secondary students would disagree, Victoria. They are adept at cross-referencing on-line, bookmarking, highlighting for further research...
Digital content is accessible in many ways.

[Victoria]

I teach older students, and many of them are much happier with paper books. As am I, for some purposes. One can scan a page from a book, OCR it and drop it into a set of lecture notes; one can't always do the same with electronic text. (Out of copyright stuff one normally can, of course.)

[Andrew]

The "classics" won't go out of print. They're brilliant books that will always have an audience.

I translated my very own classic in the form of Casanova's Story Of My Escape, and my paperback consistently outsold my Kindle edition for almost 3 years, right up until I had a Bookbub ad that sold an extra 3,000 ebooks. And now that the promotional gloss from that marketing campaign has worn off, sure enough the paperback is catching up again (though admittedly it's got a way to go).

People just like books as objects. And publishers are releasing those lovely hardback editions of some classics that are a genuine pleasure to read, and to keep on the shelves, and are worth paying $15 (or whatever) over a free download.

Yes, digital content has all these advantages, benefits and can approximate so many features of the reading experience. But people just like books, and I just don't think that's ever going to change.

And I say this as someone who self-publishes e-books, and who doesn't even have paperback versions of all those releases available.