Kindles . . . iPads . . . smartphones . . . the Cloud . . . there is an ever-increasing array of choices for viewing your electronic sources, and so many sources available in print are now available online. So why bother with the print? Why not save all those trees and just go electronic? Well, apart from the obvious, die-hard, book lover viewpoint that NOTHING will ever replace a real book in your hand, there are a few other options to consider. For example, with legal research, I have often found it easier and faster to find items relevant to my topic when I scan the print Table of Contents of a series rather than running various Boolean searches through an online database. While the databases are definitely extremely useful due to their wealth of information, they can also be a beast to tame and cost you precious time and funds when you can find the same information for free by scanning through your local library's books in print. Speaking of the Cloud and all things electronic, what if the power goes out? And you're running up against a deadline that's expiring in just a few hours? Wouldn't you like to have a print back-up nearby just in case? Or what if your server crashes, and you lose all your files? Wouldn't it be nice to have the security of a printed copy? Finally, back to that book lover opinion. There is nothing quite like holding a book in your hands and flipping through the pages manually. There's a certain sense of wonder and anticipation as you seek to discover the precious information hopefully contained therein.
