Digital Bibliography

Yeah, I know. Turn the camera sideways. You can’t honestly unbox something twice, right? So I’m stuck with this version.

Let’s say that you’ve got two digital texts. One is a book; one is a website. You access both through a computer screen. Both are accessed via the internet. Both have visual elements that move. Both incorporate sound. Both have still images. Both have alphabetic text. Neither one can be changed; read-only. Maybe this is starting to feel like a trick question. Like I’m stacking the deck. Begging the answer that they’re essentially the same form. And then, out of nowhere, I’ll reveal a simple little concept that demonstrates, definitely, that they are clearly not the same. Not going to happen. Sorry.

I will argue, though, that the book is a book and the Web page a Web page. Not the same. How’s that? To tell you the truth, I’m not totally sure. I’m still working that out. Does it come down to “books” having certain characteristics that make them books? Maybe. Read the rest of this entry »