“The library is burning to the ground, and you have time to save one thing: a book on a shelf, a digital photo of the book and its pages, or or the book or manuscript digitally transcribed (that is, typed into a computer file or files). Which one would you save and why?”
If I found myself in a library burning down with time so save one of the above items, I would hands down grab the book. This choice surprises me in some ways because whenever I have to buy books for school, I get the e-book. When I am looking for a pleasure reading book, I go to Audible or an e-book as well. This is a matter of efficiency, however (as well as back problems). I would rather carry a hundred books on my device than a hundred in my book bag. E-books give me the option to do that. They are also potentially right at my hands, when travelling and I spontaniously have a moment to read, I will almost always have my phone or laptop but might not always have my book with me.
This is an article that I could have written myself ad I agree with all of the points -> https://qz.com/880425/reading-books-on-your-smartphone-is-bad-for-the-eyes-but-good-for-the-brain/ .
Titled, “Reading Books on your Smartphone is bad for the eyes but Good for the Brain”, this article just goes over the highlights of using your phone versus an old fashioned book. These reasons, to me, are almost paralleled to the benefits of using a computer versus a dictionary, technology versus stones, phones versus shouting miles away. There’s only so much an old fashioned book can do, and that is why I would pick it in a moment of decision.
I think of this question the same way I would go through the question “If you were in your house while it burned down and you could save one possession, what would it be?” My response is not to turn to my expensive devices, but my invaluable memories and nostaliic remedies. My box of memorabelia and pictures is what I would grab. A tv can be bought again, my phone can be replaced, I can buy a new warddrobe (perk?). My memories will fade and those memories saved in the box are very, very important to me.
A physical book carries the same nostalgia for me because it can endure throughout my life and carry meaning within it. Even a book I have never read before would take more precedence than a digital version because it is the orginial source of content, ebooks are based off of real books. This is why I think they deserve to be saved.