009 News in PDF format

[Commerlad]

Well almost a year later, with a subsequent change in the "management" of both the magazine and the society,

Has there been any further developments that I have not heard of?

Because as seemingly obvious no further progress has been reported and this thread has been dead for almost a year.

[jimowers]

As an ordinary member myself I think that I am in a position to say what others may be thinking perhaps.

The OO9 Society is a volunteer run organisation, it is not a commercial operation. Those who volunteer and take on the important work of producing the newsletter and running the forum and website do so in their own time and unpaid. It is rather unfair to attempt to pressure people who are doing these things in their own time.

Let us all be patient and wait until they able to achieve these miracles which take a lot of time and effort.

[B.Meldon]

I agree with Jim.

Perhaps if there is anyone with the knowledge and time to do these things could volunteer their services to the committee?

Brian Meldon

[Scott Rixon]

That's good to hear. I love the idea of the 'back' editions. I have piles of unorganised 009 news around the house, I can't ever find the one I want!

[Graeme Dunbar]

I agree with Jim.

Perhaps if there is anyone with the knowledge and time to do these things could volunteer their services to the committee?

Brian Meldon

I got as far as digitizing a couple of pages from an issue to see how it looked, but until I retire I would not like to promise the time needed. I suspect the web site aspect of making back issues will be more challenging. What I was very pleased to see though with my experiment is that the optical character reading aspect of the scanning worked surprisingly well, though I could not find a way of making corrections. However this is only likely to be relevant if there are plans create an archive of the "pre-electronic era" issues. The oldest content would qualify for "heritage collection" status.

[rod335]

Scott:- We do have an, undigitised as yet, index to all the 009 News issues and the intention is to make this available on line at the same time.

[B.Meldon]

I do not see that storage of old 009 News

[MickT]

I hope this isn't causing too much of a thread drift, but to supplement Brian's comments about storage of 009 News (traditional paper version!), I allocate one of the A4 brown envelopes that the News arrives in monthly per year and write on it "Vol XX Oct xx tyo Sep yy" (using correct number and years of course) and this gets filled as they come in, so on a normal year the envelope will contain 12 issues which it easily accomodates and if you do manage to split it, then there are another 11 per volume held in reserve!

So far I have 43 envelopes and the pile is 16 inches tall - not a great deal considering the 500+ issues contained therein!, but easy to find things or have a pleasant couple of hours browsing through a year's worth of issues when there's nowt on the telly and family conscience forces one to join them in the living room; and I even have an index for the first 3 volumes - only another 40 to do!!

Mick

[Commerlad]

I agree with Jim.

Perhaps if there is anyone with the knowledge and time to do these things could volunteer their services to the committee?

Brian Meldon

Fairly certain I tried over 3 years ago (including providing information on how to do it), to have it "shut down" by an informal chat within the committee and not discussed at AGM as I had asked for!
Was also asked not to raise it on here at that time!

Just checked and yes I still have copies of the emails from that time.

[Hobby]

I hope this isn't causing too much of a thread drift, but to supplement Brian's comments about storage of 009 News (traditional paper version!), I allocate one of the A4 brown envelopes that the News arrives in monthly per year and write on it "Vol XX Oct xx tyo Sep yy" (using correct number and years of course) and this gets filled as they come in, so on a normal year the envelope will contain 12 issues which it easily accomodates and if you do manage to split it, then there are another 11 per volume held in reserve!

I just give mine to Julien who hands them out as freebies at shows where the WMids Group have a presence... No need for fling cabinets or envelopes!!

If I really need an article the scanner works just fine...

Same goes for other magazines...

[Jim Flynn]

Like Jeff S., who started this thread, I also joined the Society after finding there was a digital option for non UK members.

I would prefer getting the printed copy of the News, but to give the Society a try for a year, I like the less expensive option.

I'm not adverse to digital magazines and books, but at the risk of being called a luddite, I prefer the printed for, when possible.

In exploring all the scale/gauge permutations with regards to UK rail modeling, these last few years, my preference for the Society would be like the Gauge O Guild. There is only the full membership available, for the printed magazine. However, as a member, I have access to every back issue in pdf format. One can search the archive, read it on line, download issues, etc..

To sustain the Society's level of needed income, would they have to stay at the current rate for membership, even if they did go to just a digital News, and would folks still pay that amount?

Jim F

[clayliner]

It may be useful to state the following, which I believe reflects the general view of the Society 'management':

The membership subscription is a flat rate and entitles a person in the first instance to membership of the Society (which may seem to be stating the obvious but is perhaps also something easy to overlook!) With membership come assorted other benefits, such as access to members' days and events, the 009 News (in whatever format), and access to the members' Sales and Recycling service.

Regarding the format in which a member receives the News, it is worth bearing in mind that whether it is hard copy or on-line many of the costs of production will be identical - the content does not appear by magic and has to be assembled and processed whatever the format in which it is read, with associated costs. An on-line version is not free to produce. While it may be true that the Society will save on postage where a member opts for an on-line version, if a lot of members choose this some of the production costs may actually rise, as it may well be more expensive (per copy) to print a smaller number of copies than a larger number (economies of scale, and all that). Obviously the exact numbers involved will determine the different costs levels, but the principle still holds.

So I think that whatever options are offered for receiving the News, or whatever option a member chooses, there is still likely to be a single subscription rate for all members.

David Collins.

[Commerlad]

Just seen and posted in a thread about CD's of old copies. Any access to old copies for newer members is all I am really after.

Just keep the PDF's 3 copies behind the current and I would be delighted but please keep us informed as this is starting to drag.

[Jim Flynn]

Just wondering if there has been any further discussion by board members regarding this thread's original question.

Jim F

[Scottish Modeller]

Just seen and posted in a thread about CD's of old copies. Any access to old copies for newer members is all I am really after.

Just keep the PDF's 3 copies behind the current and I would be delighted but please keep us informed as this is starting to drag.

Hi all,

Totally agree with this as the way forward.

Should be a part of the History and Publications of the 009 Society - presuming that this does exist?

If not - why not?

Thanks