I can’t remember the author or title, but here’s the gist of the story:
It’s a Science Fiction novel set in the near future. Almost all information is now on a “super-web” and this is where everyone goes to conduct research. The academic libraries of the world are not used anymore, and all of the material in them is virtually useless. It would take too much effort to convert them all to digital format individually.
A company has come up with a method to digitize the books and manuscripts - they shred the books and fire the bits through a tunnel that is lined with micro cameras. The cameras take pictures of the flying shreds and then a computer algorithm puts the information together again. Unfortunately, this results in the destruction of the book.
The novel works with this theme, and the factions that are pitted either for or against this concept.
The first correct answer wins… admiration and respect from all.
ETA: Or is it even a novel at all? novella? It may have been in a “best of” collection…
This is one of the main plots of RAINBOW’S END by Vernor Vinge; not sure if that’s what you’re looking for. Was there a character who only appeared in virtual form, and took the form of Bugs Bunny throughout?
(Also, this thread is probably moving to Cafe Society).
The story obviously takes it to an extreme, but the process of digitizing books does often in fact destroy the original. You don’t shred it, but you do cut off the binding so you can lay the pages flat on a scanner.
I’ve also seen specialized scanners that are designed for bound books. They have a screen that has a sixty degree angle in the middle of it. This allows you to lay the pages flat against the screen without damaging the book’s spine. The scanning hardware is designed to track though the angle.