Geoff Wilmetts makes a good case for the digital age hurting collectors in the latest SF Crowsnest. I understand the lure of old pulp pages and toys, etc. I think we all know that one, if you've been around a while in SF/F/H. But I don't quite agree with Geoff. He says it's not the same owning a book as an ebook as it is owning the physical copy. While that is true on a physical level it isn't really true on a mental one. What difference if you read Fritz Leiber off a piece of paper or a small handheld screen? The images in your brain are the same. It is Fritz's words that matter not the delivery system. It takes a little while to get used to but it is ultimately true.
Secondly, the digital age has offered collector's new opportunities. For instance, I might never own an actual copy of Astounding Science Fiction May 1930. If I could find one it would probably cost me $50-100. The actual Pulp would be so old it would crumble and be mostly unreadable. It would be an expensive mylar bag that contains something I can't access. I can download a free digital version from Manybooks.net and get to read it. Also in 50 years when that Pulp is a pile of dust my digital copy will still exist. (I'm not quite sure what format it will be in 50 years, but that remains to be seen.) The digital copy will actually help preserve that Pulp.
(This is not true of Kindles. A great evil that I for one will not be supporting. When I buy a book, paper or electronic, I demand to own something for my $, even if it is just an electronic file.)
The only person I see being upset about this is the vendor of Pulps. It breaks down the commerce. But collectibles aren't going away. They will simply change. Instead of selling me that Pulp, the vendor will sell me art replicas that I can hang on my walls. I prefer that to the mylar bag.
GW
G. W. Thomas has been published since 1987. He has appeared in over 400 publications including Writer's Digest, The Writer and Black October Magazine. His website is www.gwthomas.org
