I received the reply from
(Ms.) Kelsey Fjestad

True enough. But outside of collegial associations like PGCA, the primary value in this book is the information it contains. If Blue Book Pubs could see significant black ink at the end of any on-line version or smart phone "app," I'm sure they would consider them. Perhaps they don't foresee that success. Especially if they still have a warehouse full of unsold books.

Alternatively, PGCA could buy-out the copyright from Blue Book and do what they wish...

The information contained in the book must've come from somebody with PGCA.

The information in the book came from Charlie Price's database.

Met with Beth Ann at the shot show and discussed. She indicated I send an email to Adam as he would know if possible or not. As I was at the Las Vegus gun show today, I discussed with S.P. Fjestad and he told me at the time they produced the book in 2002, they wanted to do an electronic version, but Remington pretty much shut the idea down. He indicated he would pass the idea again when he returns after the show.

We'll have to discuss this with Charlie Price again to determine if Remington Arms owns the data that the book is compiled from and what exactly were the terms of agreement when the books were copied and the information put into a database.

John et al., thanks. The technology and standards have come a long way since 2002. Maybe there is a better business model for delivering it in electronic form now. I know many of us use cell phones and tablets today. The first smart phones really came into wide acceptance after first publication.

It seems to me that while a small market, many of us would love to be at a gun show or gun store, see a Parker and would appreciate being able to pull up some specs on it and compare that to what they see in front of them. None of that will change the need to know what you are buying and have the knowledge and skills to appraise the condition, value and uniqueness of any given firearm before making a purchase. But the more information you have available, about how it left the factory, the better.

No matter how this turns out, it has been an interesting discussion. I have learned a bit about the origins of the data and the names of folks who brought it to the written page. Thanks.