An old prof has about 60-70' of shelf space devoted to a beautifully printed collection of classic texts. When he bought them 65 years ago, the only way to get some of the texts was to buy the collection or wait for inter-library loans.
He's over 90 now, and no one wants his books. They're all available online.
My brother is a writer. He said he gets a bigger royalty from an e-book than a printed book.
IDK ... the ability to browse through physical books once kept me from relying on and citing a totally fabricated source in an important school paper.
There were 2 volumes with the same title - IIRC, The Memoirs of Li Hung-chang,but different colors. I picked one, and it was a treasure trove! All sorts of info in English!
I finished with the book and returned it to the library. Out of curiosity, I picked up the yellow volume - and found out it was a forgery.
It's in the public domain, and it's available on the web, without noting it's fake. Li Hung-chang (Hong-zhang) was a major figure in late 19th-early 20th century China. I wonder how many papers cite this text - and thereby perpetrate lies.
BTW, the Memoirs were created by a journalist who made a name for himself with vivid reports from the front during the Spanish-American war in Cuba. Except that he never left Havana. It was a brilliant forgery, discovered only because someone met LHC someplace on a date that the book said he was someplace else. He confronted the author, and the true story came out.
I've done a brief web search and can't find the 'journalist's' name. But the above is a true story.
fBH (me) - on d-day: 66, Married 43, together 45, same sex apDDay - 12/22/2010Recover'd and R'edYou don't have to like your boundaries. You just have to set and enforce them.