The Amazon Kindle - might it help rather than hinder the rare book collecting world?
Ebooks are becoming ever more popular and, as is always the case with new technology, are both improving in terms of quality while coming down in price. This is going to make them more and more popular as time goes by. So, should book collectors be worried? Do ebooks mean the end of the printed book? Are your shelves of rare books going to be worth less because people only want electronic versions?
The obvious comparison is with music and vinyl records. Sales of physical vinyl records (as opposed to digital downloads) have been in decline for many years. The first nail in the coffin was the introduction of CDs and more recently, digital downloads have meant that generations of young people might not have ever held a record in their hands, let alone bought one. But does that mean that everyone's old records are now worthless? Of course not. Book collecting, like any other collecting hobby is something that people pursue because they love books, they love rare books, and they love significant books which have a specific character that makes them out of the ordinay. For example, people collect first editions of their favorite books (or books by their favorite authors) because these were the "original" imprint and are often rare in fine condition. They also collect signed books because these are books that have been touched personally by the author and more often that not, they are signed first editions because authors usually sign books to promote their release.
In other words, what we are saying is that ebooks are to rare books what MP3s are to rare records. They don't matter - just like reprints of a book don't make a rare first edition any less sought after, and modern day bibles don't make original King James bibles any less stunning and in demand.
If anything, the growth of ebooks might encourage a new generation of rare book collectors who seek out the original print version having been introduced by ebooks. Also, for the rare book collector, having access to your favorite book in an electronic version means that you can read your favorite books without damaging your rare printed books, just like some rare records collectors like to record their records and then listen to them on their Ipods. If anything, Kindles and other ebook readers might actually encourage the collecting of original first edition and signed books rather than hasten their demise and people who collect books, will still want to collect books even though other formats are available so we think you don't have anything to fear from the introduction of ebooks.