The printed page remains essential for scholars and students

As university libraries invest heavily in digital resources, Caroline Ball explains why physical books are still vital for research, teaching and the preservation of knowledge

Published on
September 4, 2023
Last updated
September 11, 2023
Caroline Ball
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Reader's comments (9)

#1 Submitted by graff.... on September 4, 2023 - 1:00am
This author writes as if it were 1995. They do not understand Open Access in its many forms. The transformations in publishing, library budgets, and space limits. Let alone transformations in both student and faculty habits and research practices. How can she be an "academic librarian" in 2023?
#2 Submitted by c.ball@... on September 4, 2023 - 8:17am
I understand OA just fine, but it wasn’t the focus of this article, and it isn’t the perfect solution you seem to imply. Or libraries wouldn’t still be struggling with the issues I write about. Check out #ebookSOS or talk to any librarian for more information. Have a good day!
#3 Submitted by rachel.... on September 4, 2023 - 11:43pm
As an academic librarian who works with Open Access, I can confidently say that it doesn't go anywhere near solving the issues addressed in the article. In the current prevalent OA models (namely mostly those which involve paying an Article Processing Charge), publishers still maintain a lot of control (especially those who are not transparent with the CC licences that authors can use and the retention of their rights). OA also doesn't address the issue of digitisation of print works, and OA monograph publishing is still in its infancy and again often involves charges. In an ideal world OA releases information from the grips of the publishers, but unfortunately it doesn't currently work like that!
#4 Submitted by d.j.... on September 4, 2023 - 7:11am
Good points. I'd add physical books afford faster browsing than online. search boxes and hyperlinks are a pain. sitting in a conference I found it easier to follow the speaker using a printed proceedings than trying to do so with a digital. and a pencil is a convenient tool for making marginal notes. Whilst we have not been given a choice not all academics like and support the new open access model. its become a new tail that tries to wag the dog
#5 Submitted by m.... on September 4, 2023 - 6:40pm
With an archivist's mindset I just make sure to keep my own digital copies of, well, everything, not rely on other people's online storage and goodwill in allowing access. However as a counter-argument, the use of a digital 'master' and print-on-demand means that things don't need to go 'out of print' and are more easy to revise as new information comes to light.
#6 Submitted by md35@st... on September 4, 2023 - 11:26pm
Gold OA fails on the misconception that "publishers" could be the keepers of the scholarly record; that is the role of libraries. Our libraries are full of books whose publishers disappeared a long time ago. – And may I ask, what do we still need "publishers" for in the era of the internet?
#7 Submitted by rosaria... on September 6, 2023 - 8:31am
A library cannot provide as many copies as the number of students that may need the book, so ebooks are a necessity. I agree with having at least a hard copy, too.
#8 Submitted by m.... on September 7, 2023 - 3:00pm
I wrote about this subject especially in relation to art & design in a piece for Art Monthly in 2013. In these subject areas (and no doubt many others) tactility and the intangible quality of 'the real thing' are crucial. Read the full article here: http://markwilsher.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Polemic-Digital-vs-Paper.pdf
#9 Submitted by tshingombefiston on September 9, 2023 - 11:17am
hello, student

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