Recently, on the MinistryGeek This Week podcast, we have been discussing the pluses and minuses of electronic libraries and namely Bible Software. Some arguments have been raised against these tools that I think need to be discussed. And so, this is my attempt to respond to those arguments (without the Darth Vader music being played in the background while you read). My colleague has raised some important issues, I certainly agree that we need to understand what we are buying and the risks involved with these purchases. This is true of any major purchase we make today. Let me also add that I am indeed a Logos Bible Software user and so I will deal with the arguments as they relate to that product line (since that is the only product line that gets the Darth Vader music when it is mentioned). Some other software companies may have different policies and you need to check with them each individually. To date, I have heard four major arguments raised and so I will deal with each of them. I am certain that there are others, but will will deal with these four first.
You don’t own your books, you only own a license.
TRUE – While it is true that you don’t “own” your electronic books, but simply a license to use those books, this is not unusual. As a matter of fact, you don’t “own” a single piece of software installed on your computer. You don’t even own the operating system that makes it work – you own an “end user license.” You know that really long, legalese bunch of text, that appears on the screen that you have to click something like “I Agree” to get past when installing software? That is called an EULA – End User License Agreement. If you read it, and you probably didn’t, you would see all of the details of the “license” you bought. You cannot install it on other machines, you cannot make copies, you cannot alter the code, etc… You see you own a license, not the software itself.
Now it could be argued, that $120 piece of software like Microsoft Office is not the same as spending thousands of dollars on electronic books. But it is not different than most professional fields. I worked as a Graphic Designer for years. It was not unusual to spend $1500 or more on a software package (namely Adobe Create Suite) in order to have the professional level tools needed for the job. Guess what you get for your $1500? A license to use it. You don’t own a thing.
I consider Logos Bible Software a professional level tool. I have no problem not “owning” my books. I don’t own anything else on my computer either.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Logos has gone to great lengths to build additional information into the books they license. This information allows these books to be interconnected in ways that paper sources could never dream of. These electronic resources know whether you are looking at an English word or Greek word and they know what other books provide information about English words and which offer information about Greek words. Maps become interactive, searches become multi-dimensional. Logos has made the books “smarter” and they deserve to profit by that. It makes them innovative – not evil.
Also, Logos doesn’t sell their software or upgrades to their software. You can upgrade your core software for free. That’s right – FREE – zip, zilch. nada! (Try calling Microsoft when Office 11 is released in a few months and tell them you want it free because you already bought Office 10. Just make sure you hold the phone away from your ear as they laugh hysterically in your general direction). If Logos adds a new feature or function – your software is updated automatically – no charge. Most companies wouldn’t dream of doing this. So what are they charging for? Check out this post for clarification on upgrades and crossgrades.
Download Logos 4 for Windows here - Download Logos 4 for MAC here
There is no guarantee that you will be able to access your books 10 years from now.
TRUE – Welcome to the computer age. Obsolescence is part of the deal. If a company goes out of business there is no guarantee that you will be able to run their software 10 years from now. I don’t think this surprises anyone. That is why software companies are constantly upgrading their software (and charging you for the upgrade I might add). There is no guarantee that your COMPUTER will be running 10 years from now! As a matter of fact, I would almost guarantee that it won’t be! Does that mean that we should go back to typewriters because they lasted longer? I don’t think so.
Just because we “might not” have access to these electronic resources 10 years from now doesn’t mean we should settle for their analog counterparts. The functionality gains are WAY too high to go that route. Personally, even with the problems and expenses we have with computers and software – I don’t want to go back you typewriters and White-Out!
This argument does mean however, that we need to look at the track records of the companies we do business with. While it is no guarantee that they will stay in business (Am I the only one that owns a Saturn?) it should be an indicator. Don’t buy software from fly-by night companies. I certainly wouldn’t consider Logos a fly-by night company. They have been around a long time and seem very stable.
You can sell your old analog books, but you can’t sell your electronic books.
FALSE – You can sell them – or more accurately, you can transfer your license to someone else. There is a $20 flat-fee per transfer. You can transfer as many licenses in one transaction as you want for that $20 fee. Here is the policy as stated on their website. I have called Logos and confirmed that this policy is accurate:
“Licenses for shippable products on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, which come with a Serial Number, can be transferred from one person to another. (See the EULA for more information.) Unlocks can only be transferred as part of a full license transfer. There will be a processing fee charged on all transfers which is subject to change without notice. As of 6/17/09 the fee is equal to $20.00 per transfer. Either party involved with the transfer can pay the fee. We require the transfer request in writing (email is accepted) from the person to whom the software is currently registered.”
That being said, there are limits to what you can transfer. You cannot break up a bundle or base package that you received a discount on. Some may squawk about this, but I think it is more than reasonable. Here is the way I understand this policy. If I bought a March Madness bundle for $300 that contains books (excuse me licenses) worth $700 individually, I cannot break that bundle up and sell the component parts to someone else. I can sell the bundle to someone if I decide I don’t want it. This prevents individuals from buying a bundle at a deep discount and then profiting by selling the individual components at full price and expecting Logos to do the work of transferring all of those licenses to someone else.
IMPORTANT NOTE: In defense of this argument, I have found that during the first couple of weeks, during the launch of Logos 4, they put a moratorium on the transfer of licenses. This was due to the volume of upgrades and new purchases being made at the time. It may be that during this moratorium period some staff at Logos did not communicate clearly with customers. Now I have said myself that Logos did not handle the release of Logos 4 well. They did not communicate clearly and so some criticism related to these issues is warranted. But we should now communicate accurately the policy that is in place – not some mis-information from the past.
BOTTOM LINE: For a $20 fee, your licenses can be transferred to another individual. Either the seller or the buyer can pay the fee. YOU CAN SELL YOUR BOOKS.
Logos doesn’t give you full credit for the books you have bought and wants to charge you twice.
FALSE – My personal experience is that Logos has always been reasonable about trying to give me credit for licenses I have bought. That being said – it hasn’t always been 100 percent equitable, and honestly, I can’t expect it to be and the rest of the world works the very same way.
I just bought a Beatle’s box set of 5 CDs for $40. These retail individually for $15 each, I saved almost 50 percent. But, I already bought two of these individual CDs and spent $30. Do I call the record company and tell them they are obligated to give me the other 3 CDs in the set for $10? Of course not! Why would I expect them to? I have to decide if the other 3 CDs in the set are worth the price of the entire set – in this case $45. I may still be interested since that is a $5 savings, but I might decide that added CDs aren’t worth it to me. That’s my choice. I shouldn’t slam the record company as being evil (hear Darth Vader music playing in the background) or not caring about its customers by offering the new box set and not giving me full credit for my past purchases. (BTW – The same case can be made for my Lord of the Rings boxed set, purchasing MS Word and then wanting to buy the entire MS Office suite of any other combined or bundled offer.)
How does this play out with Logos? A couple of years ago I bought the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, Revised Edition shortly after it was made available. The full retail price of this resource is $150.00. Today, this resource is one of the components of the Gold Library Upgrade for Logos 4 which is being offered for $171.00. This upgrade contains over 64 new electronic books of which The Oxford Dictionary is just one. Should I expect Logos to now give me these 63 additional resources for $21? Basically, I consider that I am paying $171.00 for these additional resources. Certainly, I need to ask myself if these additional resources are worth $171.00. If they aren’t then I won’t spend the money. If they are, I am still getting a good deal.
On top of that, MY experience is that Logos has always tried, whenever possible, to help give me credit for what I have purchased in the past. There have been a couple of “boxed set” situations where I had to decide if the offer was worth it, but in almost every case I found that it was.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Since I purchased my Oxford Dictionary for full price as an individual license, I could sell it to someone and recoup my costs. Just like I might try to sell Rubber Soul and my White Album on eBay or Craigslist.
Logos is NOT Darth Vader!
Logos, like any other company on the planet is out to make money. Noble intentions aside as far as helping us study the Bible better, they need to make profits in order to stay in business and continue innovating. Have I always agreed with the way the company has done things? Not even close! Have they always been the best communicators? No. But that makes them human – not evil. It also doesn’t give them credit for the amazing tools their products now provide.
These arguments unfortunately distract people from the HUGE benefits…
Sadly, what these arguments don’t discuss is what these new electronic resources do that their analog counterparts couldn’t dream of doing! The benefits of this technology are incredible and that is what we should be spending our time talking about. The truth is that these integrated, interactive resources can help you do things that you CANNOT do with their paper versions. To compare them with paper versions is not an apple to apple comparison. In my next post, I will outline a number of the benefits that make this technology and these electronic resources well worth the investment.
#1 by David Lemmons on August 26, 2010 - 8:12 am
Great defense of Logos! I’ve only been using it for about a year now, but it is the greatest software purchase I’ve ever made, without question. By having RSS-feeds from the forums, I learn something new about it almost every day. It is a RICH resource for Bible study for anyone interested.
There are always things we could wish were different, but as you say, the company must give attention to their bottom line in order to be able to continue offering such great advantages to us users. Logos is no Darth Vader!
#2 by jmichaelhite on August 26, 2010 - 9:45 am
Thanks – I am glad you are using this tremendous tool too! In the coming weeks I hope to post a number of serious benefits of this great aide! Stay tuned.
#3 by Jeff on August 31, 2010 - 8:49 pm
professor hite,
i ran into a very informative article a few months back regarding using the logos software on the missions field. i am a student logos user, and i am interested in researching some of the specific resources for missionaries/translators, etc. within the logos suite. i would appreciate very much you getting in touch with me. jwhite5@liberty.edu
excited to see this INCREDIBLE program come to life in yet another area of ministry,
jeff
#4 by Rick Mansfield on August 31, 2010 - 10:15 pm
Michael,
I just spent the last couple of days during my commute listening to your most recent MinistryGeek podcasts on the subject of Bible software. I’d never heard your podcast before, but it was linked on the Accordance forums, so I decided to check you fellows out. I wanted to leave a comment directly for the podcast, but couldn’t find a place to do that so I’m doing it here since this particular blogpost is exactly on the subject for which I wanted to offer a couple of comments.
First let me say, I really enjoyed listening to the three of you discuss a subject that is always of interest to me. I have very significant investments in both Accordance and Logos, and while I wish Accordance had received more coverage, the podcast was intriguing anyway.
Second, to address your first two issues above, I want to make two comments that I kept hoping someone would mention, but no one ever did.
(1) Regarding the issue of ownership and licensing, the reality is that even when we buy printed books, we don’t technically “own” that content either. It is copyrighted material, and we do not have the freedom to do with it as we wish (unless, of course, it is in the public domain). Therefore, in the end, it doesn’t really matter whether it’s digital or print–our permission to use it is still essentially limited in the same whether the word “license” is used or not. The only REAL difference is that maintaining one’s use of electronic texts is dependent upon two primary third parties–the platform makers (Logos, Accordance, Wordsearch, etc.) and the operating system makers (Microsoft, Apple, etc.).
(2) Then regarding the issue of whether you can use your electronic texts ten years from now, we all better wise up and realize that we have no guarantee that we will be able to use our printed books in ten years either. Let me explain. What really got me thinking about this was the fact that during Hurricane Katrina, the campus of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary completely flooded. They lost their campus library and the professors lost what was in many cases a personal collection of books that had been built over a lifetime as their offices flooded. Books that were decades old, some that were over a century old were wiped out in a matter of minutes.
This ought to really give us pause. If my personal library of printed books is wiped out, it’s gone. Yes, I might have it insured and can start buying replacements, but the books themselves are gone nevertheless. However, if I lose my Accordance library or my Logos library (through theft, physical damage to my computer, data corruption, etc.), I can retrieve everyone of those texts fairly easily from the original companies or from a backup.
As for the actual issue of obsolescence, yes, it’s a risk, but I like to think there is safety in numbers. As I buy electronic books in Accordance and Logos, I know that tens of thousands of others are doing the same. As I buy books for the Kindle app on my iPad, I know that MILLIONS of others are doing the same. The more that buy in, the more that these companies remain solvent and the better chance that their file formats become standard (and there’s always room for more than one standard).
Furthermore, I would like to think that if one of these Bible software companies were to actually go under, perhaps they could sell their intellectual property and customer base to a competitor. While such a thought seems like heresy to dedicated users right now, at least that would create an avenue of transition for stranded customers.
For me, the iPad has been my deciding factor for making the move from printed books to digital as my primary preferred format. I have about 2500 “real” books taking up our entire guest bedroom. What doesn’t rest on bookshelves, sits on floors. While I have thousands of books in Accordance and Logos on my computer, I have akways used them primarily for reference. I never read one from cover to cover like I might do with a traditional book. But when I got my iPad, I found that I could easily read books in their entirety. And with both of these platforms creating iPad apps (Logos is available now and Accordance for the iPad is in the beta stage), I knew that I would be able to access these books in what is now a handheld form.
Moreover, throughout the years, I had held on to duplicate physical books that corresponded to electronic titles. For instance, I had physical copies of BDAG, HALOT, the Anchor Bible Dictionary, etc., but I also had all of them in Accordance. What I’ve discovered is that, especially in regard to reference books, if I have them electronically, I simply don’t use their printed equivalents any longer. It’s simply too convenient to use them on the computer or iPad. Then, I realized that my situation had turned into a spiritual issue. If I hold on to physical objects that I will never use, I’m guilty of hoarding. In many ways, our accumulation of objects begins to weigh heavy on us after a while. Our possessions can easily become burdens.
So, right now, I’ve got about 250 books stacked in my front room. Yes, that’s only 10% of my physical library, but it’s a start. My goal is to sell every book that I have duplicated in physical form to what’s on my MacBook Pro or my iPad. Then, I want to go through and cull those titles that I’m never really going to use again anyway. I will never get rid of all my physical books for various reasons, but I’d like to cut way down. And going forward, I would prefer to buy digital whether for Bible software or for more mainstream platforms like the Kindle app.
That decision is not for everyone, but it’s right for me. And while I will continue to buy books, if I never buy one in physical form again, that’s okay.
#5 by jmichaelhite on September 1, 2010 - 10:02 am
Thank you so much for the post. I think your comments are spot on!
I too have started sharing some of my old physical copies of books with others. I agree, I just wasn’t using them if I had electronic copies.
As for providing better coverage of Accordance, I must admit that I haven’t used it in a very long time and can’t justify the cost to “play” with it to be able to speak more intelligently about it. I would love your perspective, as an Accordance user, of the pluses and minuses vs. Logos. They are two different products certainly, but I am confident Accordance does some things better than Logos and visa-versa. Any insight you can provide would be helpful. Have you upgraded to Logos 4?
Thank you again for the comments – I hope you continue to find this blog and MinistryGeek helpful.
#6 by Rick Mansfield on September 1, 2010 - 10:19 pm
Well, I have to be careful in talking about Logos. Last year, because I have pretty decent collections on both platforms, I decided to make some comparison videos. I admitted up front that I prefer Accordance over Logos, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t like Logos. In the end, though, I got accused of trying to short sell Logos, which I still don’t think was the case.
And after a post I wrote regarding the “SBL Shootout” (which I attended), I found myself in a virtual shouting match in the comments of the post with the Logos top brass. I felt that none of this was Christ-honoring, and actually a bit shameful in light of the fact that BIBLE software was the context for the argument. I decided to delete the posts and the comments, although in hindsight, I wish I’d just deleted the comments (where things were getting quite out of hand) as opposed to the original post, which was fairly tame. But in the end, deleting both allowed me to smooth things over a bit with certain folks at Logos.
Yes, I have upgraded to Logos 4. I have the current beta of the Mac version installed as well as the current release in Windows which I run through Bootcamp and Parallels.
In Accordance, I have the Library Premier package as well as the Scholars Unlock All (the largest collection Accordance offers) in addition to plenty of other titles I have added on along the years including some very significant commentary sets.
In Logos, I have the Platinum Collection as well as other titles and packages I’ve bought. I’d get their Portfolio if they’d let me stretch payments out over two or three years, but I was unable to get them to do that for me. ‘
And the reality is that I’ve been able to accumulate so much because both companies have been generous in their level of discounts that they give me.
For my studies, including a dissertation I’m working on, I use Accordance for what I call the “heavy lifting.” Detailed work in biblical languages and related background studies are done in Accordance. Only afterwards do I turn to Logos, especially if I need to consult a book that is in Logos, but not in Accordance.
From an interface perspective, and I don’t mean the external visual interface, but rather the functional aspects of the interface, I find Accordance to be more mature, easier to use, and much faster than Logos.
In the recent Logos 4, there was an purposeful attempt to simplify the interface. But while it looks very clean, to me, it’s now more difficult to use. They took out a lot of the options from the toolbar and menu of version three in favor of a command line! A command line seems like such a step backwards to me. Honestly, and perhaps this is because I don’t use Logos as my primary Bible software platform, but I cannot remember all the commands. When using it, I often have to keep the Help file open.
And Libronix 3 was criticized for being slow, which was a direct result of it being based on an HTML structure. But the new version of Logos, based on .Net, is equally as slow as its predecessor, if not worse at times. If you’ve ever frequented the Logos forums, there’s not a whole lot of room for dissent. When people start complaining about the slowness of Logos, they get piled on pretty quickly by the users who are quick to defend the platform they’ve invested in. I’ve even seen the issue of speed swept aside as if it didn’t matter. I sometimes think that users who have been with Logos for a long time as a preferred platform are so used to its slowness that they don’t know any better. For the tasks that both Logos and Accordance perform, I’d like to sit these folks down in front of Accordance to show them what a difference speed can make. Nevertheless, both the Windows and Mac versions of Logos are not yet complete. Maybe there will be further optimization for speed in the long run.
And if slowness weren’t enough by itself, for those tasks that both programs can do, inevitably, Logos takes more steps for the same tasks than Accordance does. Again, I believe a lot of this has to do with the maturity of the functional aspects of the Accordance interface.
Regardless, because Logos is a larger company and because they can release products more swiftly, there will always be titles available in Logos that will not be available in Accordance. That’s the primary reason I got involved with Logos, too. Even today, I was looking at (or was it coveting after?) Logos’ Second Temple Period Collection, which would be really helpful to me right now, but I can’t really afford it at the moment. But because of offerings such as this, I prefer not to make the two platforms an either/or decision, but I decided to use them both. I’ve even gone into Logos’ forums and tried to help with the beta process for the Mac.
I think a year ago, some were beginning to see me as “the anti-Logos guy,” and that’s simply not true. My investment alone should prove otherwise. If I were going to buy a package just to criticize them, I could have bought their least expensive package, but that’s not what I’ve done.
Admittedly, there is a level of animosity toward Logos from some longtime Mac users. The summary given on your podcast regarding the way the rollout of version four was handled and how Mac users have historically been treated cannot be denied. The Mac users I’ve found who are most excited about Logos are those who are fairly recent Mac converts and have a large number of previously purchased texts in Windows who need to be able to run their software on their newly chosen platform. Most longtime Mac users who use Bible software are already sold on Accordance, and I believe my involvement with both platforms is a bit of an unusual situation.
In the long run, I’d like to eventually do some more comparison videos once the Mac version of Logos gets out of beta. But I want to structure them carefully so that they’re apple to apple comparisons. I think part of the differences between the programs is philosophical, but that affects methodology and interface. Yet, I believe it would be helpful to see these differences nonetheless. I don’t think bias itself is a bad thing if it’s bias based upon experience and information. But what I do want to do is to be above reproach in my implementation. That might mean fewer verbal comments by letting the demonstrations speak for themselves, or perhaps better acknowledgement of instances where Logos does actually perform a task better than Accordance.
Who knows, as more people come to the Mac, more people might end of using both programs. A fair treatment of each program’s strengths and weaknesses, especially if demonstrated side-by-side would have to be helpful.
#7 by jmichaelhite on September 2, 2010 - 6:54 am
Thank you very much for your detailed response. I appreciate the point of view. I purchased a very, very early version of Accordance years and years ago and have not kept up with its development. I too, would enjoy seeing a face-to-face, apples to apples comparison of the two products. Since I have an investment in Logos have have not wanted to re-invest in a current Accordance library. That has kept me in the dark about its current level of functionality and efficiency.
Working in an academic environment, tipped the scales in favor of Logos a bit. We wanted to be able to teach our students how to use these powerful Bible software tools and Windows is still the platform of choice for the majority. Without a Windows version available, Accordance was not in the running.
I would love to see some screencasts of how Accordance works and how fast it is. I will have to admit that I have grown accustom to the speed (or lack of it) in the Logos environment. I will agree that the switch from HTML to the .Net structure is not the massive speed improvement some expected. I will say that with recent upgrades to my hard drive and RAM (8GB) the Windows version of Logos 4 running in Parallels is snappier. The MAC version still has development issues as a beta.
I also want to comment of the Logos forum “fights” that I have seen break out. I too am dismayed at the language, hostility and many times unChrist-like attitudes I have seen. After all, this is a discussion of software used to study God’s word. I understand disagreements with the way things are done, or how something functions, but many time it gets out of control. It ought not be this way.
I hope you will continue to bring your point of view into the discussions and help me be more informed about alternative products. I want the readers of this blog to get a balanced perspective. I just cannot always provide that because I cannot afford to purchase each product so I can discuss from first hand experience.
Thanks again – I look forward to talking to you more.
#8 by Caleb O'Hara on September 16, 2010 - 11:31 pm
I wish I was in a feistier mood because I’d post doctoral dissertations in response to Mr. Mansfield on the electronic software question
First of all let it be made clear that I’m not against electronic books. In all reality my main beefs are with Logos and the way they have treated me because I dared to question their assertions about the “great deal” they were offering me in their “secret sauce.” I did research and found out that many of the claims Logos was making were stretches (I’m being nice). They did so many songs and dances that to this day I still can’t get anyone at Logos to admit they mislead with their “secret sauce” roll-out – so be it!
To point #1 above – You own the book you just can’t redistribute the content inside the book. You even mention in your post that you are taking them one by one and selling the books. Try doing that with Logos! They would not let me sell my books in logos before and cited as case and point that I didn’t own the book just a license. They have since retracted this statement EVEN THOUGH the upper management are the ones that sent me the emails stating I didn’t own the books and couldn’t sell them. It’s simply not apples to apples to compare the book on your shelf with an electronic license. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing! As you have noticed an electronic license takes up a lot less space and is a lot lighter to carry with you to Africa
Let’s just be honest though, ah hum Logos, and not try to tell people that we are selling you thousands of dollars worth of books at a great price when you are NOT selling me a book. In my humble opinion Logos and others are using peoples ignorance of what they are investing in, couple with some slick talk, as a way to sell more product. I know I plunged in headfirst into the Logos bandwagon thinking I was getting something that I have latter learned I did not. And I am not the only one. I’ve talked to many people since who when I’ve explained the situation felt the same way. So I don’t disagree with #1. It’s with the way #1 is marketed.
As to #2 you actually gave the best response to it. If your books are destroyed you have insurance on your library. I know I have it on mine. Let’s make a list of the times people have lost books via houses flooding and the number lost due to HD crashes. It won’t take long to realize way more HD’s crash than houses burn down. In the end you can get the book again (except in rare cases of rare books – of course). If the company goes south there is high likelihood people will be stranded in the dark. The larger these companies get the less likely this is to happen because there will be so many morons like you and I out there with thousands of dollars ties up in ones and zeros that someone will figure out a workaround. Point #2 is understood, I don’t think anyone was ever saying this wasn’t the case. The point is that a medium of communication that has been around since at least time of Moses has a much better track record than does Logos who has been around a handful of years.
As to Accordance I really can’t say anything except I’ve seen a few people use it and it looked pretty nice. If I were a betting man, however, I would bet on Bibleworks up against both Logos and Accordance as far as speed is concerned. It is the software I always have open to do my searches in the original languages in fractions of seconds.
So much for not writing a dissertation eh?
Caleb
#9 by Rick Mansfield on September 20, 2010 - 1:37 pm
Caleb,
Regarding your point #1, you are correct that Logos has gone back and forth about the transfer of licenses. And at one time they even required the new purchaser to pay 10% of total cost. Fortunately, they are allowing people to exchange licenses at no cost. Accordance has the same policy.
The real question to me comes regarding books purchased for reading devices like the Kindle. If I die, who gets my books? What happens to the virtual notes I created in these books. These are definitely issues that we will have to iron out. Of course, I am not really a person to Amazon, am I? I’m just an account. So, I would imagine that if my heirs were to keep my accounts live, they could keep my Kindle books. But hopefully a better solution will be worked out than this.
Regarding your response to my point #2, I really have no idea which happens more–books getting destroyed by fire and flood or hard drives crashing. But let’s go for a minute with your assumption that more hard drives crash.
If my hard drive crashes, I have a backup. I have an external drive backing up my hard drive five days a week. And it’s an offsite hard drive in my office, not in my home. If my hard drive were to crash, I could be back up and running with NOTHING lost in less than a day.
Of course, does everyone have their computers backed up? No, but if they don’t, it’s their own fault if they lose data.
Replacing a physical library with insurance money would take considerable more time than replacing an electronic library. First, you’d have to make certain you had an up-to-date list of the books in your physical library. I have a database on my computer with 2300+ of my physical books listed, but I know I haven’t been disciplined enough to keep them all cataloged. In reality, it would be very difficult for me to replace my physical library even if money were not an issue. And I’m certain that many of my physical books are out of print. It would really take a lot of time and effort to replace them.
But back to the electronic texts. Let’s say that I did not have a backup (which, again, I do), If I install either Logos or Accordance, my books will automatically download back to my computer (Accordance just added this feature with v. 9 released this week). The same thing happens with any Kindle books I’ve purchased from Amazon.
I’m really not knocking physical books. I love physical books. But from this point moving forward, my money is going to electronic books as exclusively as I am able–in spite of any aforementioned risks.
And by the way, books have NOT been around since the time of Moses. I assume you know this, but since you said what you said, it bears repeating. In Moses’ day, folks were still writing texts into stone. Someone may correct me, but I know of know parchments or scrolls from that far back. If there were any, they’re probably lost.
Knowledge was first passed down orally–granted, probably the most volatile of mediums. Then stone (perhaps the most permanent!), then parchments and scrolls, and only after the beginning of the Christian era two millennia ago did we really start to see anything that looked like our modern books in early codices. And of course, every codex, like every scroll and parchment, had to be produced by hand.
Means of passing on knowledge changes. Yes, a digital means is only a very small fraction of this entire timeline, but it is the next phase for better or worse. The digitizing of texts is the most significant step since Gutenberg’s press. And it should be noted that as the printing press rose in prominence as a primary method, there were indeed those who bemoaned the passing of handcrafted books. But those handcrafted books, beauty notwithstanding, were expensive and lengthy amounts of time were required to produce them. There’s a very similar transition going on today.