Book People Archive

Re: A book I would like to see online


I don't buy this at all. . .I will spend my whole life making sure this
is NOT the case. . .the public domain WILL come to the public, just as
Burnham Wood came to Dunsany. . .and the current regime will lose control.

Michael


On Sat, 30 Dec 2000, Joseph Esposito wrote:

> If I may make a provocative point, the reason that books like this one are
> not available online or elsewhere (I know nothing of the publishing history
> of this particular work)is precisely because they are no longer anyone's
> property.  This is the downside of the public domain.  One can imagine a
> niche business in putting specialized into "print" in whatever medium, but
> only if such a business can realize a competitive return on
> capital--competitive, that is, with all other investment opportunities.  In
> the absence of the profit motive (about which I personally am deeply
> ambivalent), specialized work requires the efforts of volunteers, who may be
> few in number, or subsidies from foundations and government.  I for one
> don't trust the culural prerogatives of some elected officials (remember the
> Maplethorpe brouhaha?).  There is an "old economy" model for what I am
> describing here, Dover Publications, which has made many scholarly books
> available over the years.  (I am a Dover alumnus.)
>
> Joe
>
> Joseph J. Esposito
> 613 Spring St.
> Santa Cruz, CA 95060
> <mailto: espositoj@[redacted]
> (831) 425-1143
> (831) 471-2801 (fax)
> (831) 254-0306 (wireless)
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Jeff and Paulina Miner <booksetc@[redacted]>
> To: <onlinebooks@[redacted]>
> Cc: <spok+bookpeople@[redacted] <hart@[redacted]>
> Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2000 8:51 PM
> Subject: A book I would like to see online
>
>
> > Now here's a book I would like to see online somewhere:
> >
> > _Vergil in the Middle Ages_
> > Domenico Comparetti. Tr. E. F. M. Benecke.
> > 1872. Reprinted by Princeton University Press, 1997. 392pp.
> > ISBN 0691026785.