Is the object itself worth saving?

Question

A scan keeps every word and drops everything else: the inscription on the flyleaf, the marginalia, the binding, the proof that the object passed through human hands. The company's files keep the text. The dumpster gets the rest.

Accepted Answer

This is the actual axis of the fight. For a first edition, losing the object is a tragedy; for the fourth copy of an airport thriller, it's a shrug. The entire debate lives in the space between those two books — and in who gets to decide which one just went under the blade. (55% of Americans answer "The object matters" — floor est.)