I don't know if this is the right place to post this question, or even if I should post it at all since it's such an old book, but I am curious what the answer will be so I'll ask anyway. I recall reading some spirited discussions about book repair & maintenace on the forum in the past so hopefully someone can help me.
My copy of RoP: TD lacks the front crease between the front cover and the spine and the backs of the pages are separated from the inside of the spine by about 1 cm. The book seems OK, though turning the pages does feel "funny". Will this adversely affect the books useful life or are there any special precautions I should take to protect it?
BTW. I am very happy with the production-quality of my ArM books however (HoH: MC withstood a toddler-mauling that would have ruined any lesser tome!)
Just be careful not to put any weight on it (IE, stacking other books on top of it), and be careful with it in general and you'll probably be fine. It will shorten the life of the book, but you can hopefully compensate for that by being extra gentle.
I would recommend handing it over to a skilled scribal team (scribe, illuminator, and bookbinder) to have a copy produced. However, as the book is covered under the modern equivalent of the Cow and Calf Oath (copyright law) you should feel honor-bound to make only a single copy, and not to allow other covenants access to the original.
Actually, since you did legitimatly pay for the book, it's legal to download one copy of a PDF of the book for your own personal use. No stealing from the company.
Best not to get in to a copyright discussion or make blanket statements - the specifics of local laws do vary, and even copyright lawyers* will disagree on points of the law.
(* a Specialist that few Covenants have.)
Having copies of a book you own for your own use is legal if you make them yourself, tho' flattening the book out for scanning may spell the end of it.
I find pdf's great for searching for words/phrases, something you cannot do with a hardcopy.
You could also take it to a bookbinder and have it rebound, tho' results (and costs) can vary.
I bought HoH: TL as a PDF (from E23, I think) and found it difficult to read and hard to use at game sessions. The search feature was a plus though!
Besides, if the pages ever do fall out of my print copy, it would be a simple matter to scan them and make my own computer-copy, or just staple them together. I was more looking for information of what (if anything) is wrong with my book and whether any special precautions were in order when using it.
(I bought the book a year ago, so no returning it. I did notice the defect at the time I bought it, but it was the only copy they had and I really wanted the book...)
e-books are indeed pretty useless in a tabletop game.
Some xerox(ish) machines allow scanning of a book that is only open at 90 degrees - if you can find that, you could make yourself a hardcopy for thumbing.
That IS legal, so long as it is for personal use - and that includes handing it to another player for a few minutes at a game for them to look something up.
If you don't want to do it yourself my friends here http://www.campbell-logan.com/ I know do excellent work. (although I couldn't give you any information about price or speed or convenience)