Accessibility of Historic Books

Studying historical books becomes more convenient as technological innovations occur.  Since March 20 2012, ”

JISC Historic Books contains the full text or page images of over 300,000 books published in Britain before 1800

As more historical books become available on the internet, there is less incentive to visit museums and libraries to view them.  Online viewing takes away from the feel and style to which the book was written.  When viewing books online, one can only view content within the text.  You cant see the real texture of the cover, pages, and maybe not even the actual font.  Even some books have a certain smell to them that can create an enticing aura.  Similar to the explanations by Walter Benjamin in “Illuminations,” When you have an official historic book from the time in which it was written, you can feel the difference which aids in immersing oneself in the setting in which it was created.  The lack of a setting can result in a lack of motivation for the general population.  Historians would be interested in old books regardless of the presence of an aura; on the other hand, an aura can be alluring for students normally uninterested in historical books.

 

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