Free Books: Why All My Students Buy, Read, And Keep The Textbook

Books command a special reverence within the academic world, and I am not exempt from their power. In my case, I have approximately 29 cubic feet of shelf space allocated to books that I own and need regularly. At one time or another I have actually read many of them, but now 'regular' usage means a few pages are needed for reference once every few months, or years. There are another 15 cubic feet of books stored in boxes because they are only needed for irregular usage. Before the advent of the Internet, paper was the best medium for transferring information in forms such as books. At this point it still offers some tactile stimulation, but it lacks the convenience and power of an electronic form. In practical terms each book only needs a few megabytes of disk space. I could fit my entire collection of books on a few CDs or easily lose the entire collection on my hard drive. The best reason for books to be in paper form it to control how they are distributed. Given the benefits, it is inevitable that people will prefer to adopt books that are freed from paper.