10-07-2014, 09:39 PM | #1 |
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Help with long term access and content preservation
Hello,
I am a library graduate student beginning research for an Archives and Media course. I wanted to jump into ebooks but didn't anticipate all the file formats in addition to devices! I'm wondering what the discussion in the community is about the preservation of straight-to-epublised works and how migration between devices and file formats is being anticipated. Anything information or personal opinions will be helpful/appreciated. Thanks! |
10-08-2014, 02:47 AM | #2 |
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Why do you say "all the formats"? There are only two formats that matter: Kindle (by far the largest number of sales) and ePub, and converting between these is trivial. I don't really see where the problem lies.
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10-08-2014, 02:49 AM | #3 |
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10-08-2014, 03:36 AM | #4 |
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... And then you archive them as you would any other file. I use an external hard drive and I periodically burn a CD. And I have some informal copies of recent purchases on SD cards.
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10-08-2014, 03:44 AM | #5 |
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10-08-2014, 03:48 AM | #6 | |
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Quote:
Not long ago, there was a discussion within one of the MobileRead Forums > E-Book General > General Discussions > threads about which ebook format would last longest. I think the consensus was: format doesn't matter. What does matter is that one backs up his/her files, redundantly, and maintains the software/apps/devices necessary to read or convert files that eventually become obsolete. Also discussed was file size: some files are more compact than others. Tour through the threads I've indicated above, and I think you'll find the one I'm talking about fairly easily. RE: about [...] how migration between devices and file formats is being anticipated. The above-mentioned discussion addresses means of sharing files among different platforms, cites ebook conversion tools such as calibre, and alludes to DRM-stripping methods. I suggest you look for the threads on Mobileread that discuss calibre as well as find discussions, at other sites, that discuss DRM-stripping (the specifics of which may not be discussed at Mobileread). Last edited by Froide; 10-08-2014 at 03:55 AM. |
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10-08-2014, 04:01 AM | #7 |
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I am surprised that no one has mentioned DRM; I think we all assume that any DRM is removed first before attempting to "preserve" an ebook, i.e. it is not safe to assume you will always be able to read a DRM encrypted ebook.
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10-08-2014, 04:04 AM | #8 |
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10-08-2014, 04:18 AM | #9 |
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I did mention DRM in the second part of my post, immediately above yours, in which I referred the OP to MR threads that discuss that topic in more detail and to other forums to read discussions about the how-to's.
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10-08-2014, 11:11 AM | #10 |
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Yep, DRM is part of the discussion, but we can't discuss it in detail here at MR. For that you have to Google Apprentice Alf as it's a rule that the subject can't be discussed in any detail here at MR.
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10-08-2014, 03:20 PM | #11 | |
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Quote:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LOCKSS http://www.lockss.org/ |
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10-08-2014, 03:26 PM | #12 |
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Making sure that your copies of your books don't disappear before you do is a different problem than preventing a book from disappearing completely.
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10-08-2014, 03:29 PM | #13 |
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Those "trivial" conversions are not necessarily lossless, especially with respect to images.
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Tags |
access, archive, ebook, format, preservation |
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