As a follow-up to my recent post on digitization of The New Yorker, I'd like to point you all to a recent article by MIchael Bierut at Design Observer. Having received the digital collection of the magazine as a Christmas present, he takes a moment to reflect on the unchanging nature of its design. He discusses almost nothing about the experience of using the archive and instead extols the power of having so much history at his fingertips. It goes to show that even though the package is less than perfect, the content — all 75+ years of it — is still king.

I have to admit that I'm beginning to eye the collection more and more. At a mere $62, having every single page of The New Yorker in its original form sounds really delightful. This coming from someone who grew up in a family of self-confessed information junkies and pack-rats — a trip to the basement of my childhood house in Connecticut will reveal stacks of National Geographic magazines dating back to the 30s and 40s.