COULD MORE E-BOOKS REVITALIZE NUMISMATIC HOBBY?

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V14 2011 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 14, Number 5, January 30, 2011, Article 15

Scott Barman submitted the following thoughts on consequences to the hobby of not having enough e-book options available today. -Editor

The problem I have with doing a book solely in electronic format is one which many numismatic authors and publishers may have encountered---ours is a hobby that caters mostly to older people. I know that the buyers of my current book and the subscribers to my price lists and newsletters are mostly my age and older.

When I started this thread, I asked for more e-book options and not to replace paper books. I do not expect segments of the population to accept electronic options. However, there is a large segment of the population that not only wants access to e-books but will be lost to the hobby if the e-books are not an option.

My blog is mostly read by people my age (50) and younger. Not only is this the future of the hobby, but it is a segment of the hobby that will thrive with access to e-books. They are the future of the hobby and they are growing up in an electronic world.

I think the hobby is losing a lot of potential members by not having e-book options available to them. Even as a Young Numismatist grows up and enters the transition to young adult, they are armed with computers, e-readers, iPads, and smart phones. They consume electronic media more than paper. In fact, those whose attend college are finding that more of their materials are being made available in electronic form to where some schools are giving away iPads to support this move.

One thing we like about consuming electronic information is that it is less expensive. While the information does cost to produce, electronic information does not have the physical production costs and does have a cheaper distribution mechanism. Although Amazon.com has had significant push-back from publishers over their dictated pricing model, there have been many published reports claiming publishers are still earning profits selling for the Kindle. Many have suggested that publishers are using profits from e-books to offset the lower profits from their paper versions.

In my blogpost, I wrote, "Publishers who have not embraced the e-reader will lose out on the business of younger numismatists and technology-oriented people like myself." If the information was available in electronic format, I wonder if the average age of the hobby will be lowered? I think so.