The online resources that I’ve discovered via Forum/Numiswiki have been invaluable, especially when I was first starting out, and whenever I am able I add to them and correct
broken links if I find them and can do so. One of the goals with my
Numiswiki Sasanian References 2 page was to add a URL for each
work cited that was accessible online. I periodically test those links and fix broken ones when I can. Online sources can be so convenient, easy to use, portable (have laptop/smart phone will travel) and searchability (if available) is a great tool. I agree 100% with Lech’s statement about the digitization of references, encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc. I am also a heavy user of JSTOR, and when I am on the UW Madison’s WiFi I have full, institutional access, which allows me to download PDFs. What do I do with them after downloading? I print them!!
I love the printed word, print/copy journal articles whenever I can, and also buy many books (more than I should), even books that I can easily access online (e.g. BDC
Thessaly I and II, Traité, etc.). I guess that I prefer to use hard copies, but they do come with their “
price” (as Lech stated: storage, dusting, shipping, boxes and boxes and boxes of them when moving).
Unfortunately online sources can sometimes be susceptible to disappearance. Just look at what happened to the Lorber/Shahar Silver Facing
Head Coins of
Larissa website:
obsolete technology compounded by (understandably) the too daunting task of rebuilding the site from scratch. Of course, however, books can also be destroyed in many different ways.
Nothing wrong with the best of both worlds: digitization and the printed word. I love the convenience (and as Dominic T stated the ease of making corrections to online sources) of the former, but for the aesthetic and tactile experience nothing beats the latter. If I am sitting in my chair early in the morning or late at night, it is a book in my hand and not a device in my lap. But, that’s just my personal preference and nothing more.
Tracy