www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall I don't know what to say ...

and that doesn't happen all that often, as we know

The topic is bizarre, but I have to share it ...

While searching a couple of the major online bookseller sites, I've come to notice, more and more frequently, listings of books that are accompanied by the legend 'Print on Demand'.

For those unfamiliar with the phrase, this generally describes an out-of-print, out-of-copyright, text that a printer (I'm loath to call them publishers) has photocopied and prints when an order is received. Such certainly fulfill a market demand and can make available texts which are often difficult to find and can be prohibitively expensive to purchase, if one insists on obtaining a real, honest-to-goodness published copy.

But, the idea has apparently now extended beyond that. The first hint of this was noting that 'original' compilations were becoming part of the genre - copies of several journal articles on a topic, for instance, with a cover title indicative of the general subject. (Think back to your professor handing out a stapled batch of photocopied articles as part of your reading list for the semester).

The following, however, caught my eye tonight and I felt the need to share it - because it was sooo ridiculously written. I can only surmise that its author got a print on demand dictionary for his or her birthday and randomly opened it to pages before throwing darts at it to select words to use.


Too bad, he or she didn't read the definitions before employing the words ... "cohesive" books?, "curated from"?, a collation of articles from Wikipedia represents a "lexicon in the sharing of human knowledge"?, and, binding them together constitutes a "collaboration"?

Amazing - and to think that, if I was willing to accept Wikipedia as a source on which I wanted to rely, I'd pay only $23.55 plus s&h to get it in this format. What a deal!!!

Many years,

Neil

< shakes head in total disbelief >

Actually any number of my students would be willing to pay that amount to get something they could turn in as a term paper. The problem with their business model isn't that they are using Wikipedia as their source, hardly any educated in the U.S. in the last 15 years would consider this a problem anyway,but that they are trying to sell stuff that has to be read. No one I know under 25 reads anything anymore unless they are forced to do so under the threat of the most ruthless retribution.

I too have noticed the number of "print on demand" internet shops that have sprouted up lately. I shop ABEbooks.com with some frequency for old theological books and find many POD tomes offered there. It seems especially many books relevant to patristic studies are offered that way.

It also happens many of the books I see offered as POD are available as free PDF downloads elsewhere. If one only needs a few pages for research, a PDF allows one to print what is needed at very little cost. It pays to look around.

Also, with a due diligence original hard bound editions of the same books can often be had for a modest price. I have collected over 1000 volumes that way with several rare books included. Usually the "print on demand" price is higher. Only in cases where an original edition is prohibitively expensive, or unavailable, even as a PDF, would I consider buying a "print on demand" substitute.


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