It was interesting comparing the two different sites that archive books digitally..they both definitley have pros and cons. I Looked at “The Letters and Works of Lady Montague”, and both sites had their advantages and disadvantages with it. The IA site was very straightforward, with nothing else on the page other than a search box, and page turning cursors. It was kind of nice how that replicated real reading experience to a degree, as many people have voiced the sentiment that reading online can be such a drag. This was a little nicer, with no other visual clutter, and the book as scanned really replicates the book itself, down to the yellowing of the pages. All I missed was that smell…the only thing was it was harder to jump around the book itself, it was easier to turn the pages, or if you had a specific search term..can’t search page numbers directly. It would also require a bit of research to find out where you could attain a hard copy, whereas with the google site has it all right there. Depends on what you are looking for.
The Google books site also had the work, but the interface was quite different, featuring the book, search boxes, offers to buy the book, links to other sites that sell the book (do we see a pattern here?), downloadable format, html, on offer to add it to a library, and even to find it in an actual library rather than a virtual one. The book was searchable by page number or term. The site was quite commercial, and had that interface that I do think is no fun to stare at. You know you’re online. On the other hand, you do have the resources there at your fingertips if you do need anything else from the book, no need to search out where you can purchase a copy or download it, all is provided to you. It is also nice that you can search by page number as well, as sometimes you may be looking for a reference that has a page number and that can speed you to it. Both have pros and cons, and I have to admit I’ve loved these sites when you’re stuck not being able to get a book at the library..these sometimes are saviors when the book gets misplaced (yes Fenwick, I’m talking about you!), but neither of them replace that great feeling of holding an old book in your hands..its about the smell.
