[Publib] The death of print reference as seen by a patron

[Joe Schallan]

I shared the comments about the demise of the basketball and baseball  
guides and registers with a friend of mine, who is a lifelong  
baseball fan and heavy library user (as well as computer user). He  
faithfully bought the baseball register year after year.  His remarks:


"This sucks big-time.  There is no substitute for the register.  I  
have found it invaluable every year, referring to it several times  
during every game I watch.  Even if I had a laptop and could punch in  
each player's stats it wouldn't come close to being as convenient, OR  
as pleasurable.  The physical pleasure one gets from looking  
something up in a BOOK is immeasurable compared to typing on a  
keyboard and ruining one's eyes by reading off a screen."


-- Joe Schallan
      Phoenix

PS. I suspect that the new owners' decision to stop publication was  
driven by the hard mathematics of the current book marketplace:   
Though the print guides and registers may have covered their costs  
and made SOME money, they didn't make as much as other products can.