David Goodman wrote:
and textbooks are not reference material. Most
libraries discard them
when the next edition comes out (or keep one edition back). Libraries with
immense amounts of storage space put one copy in
storage & throw out the others.
(Nor should old textbooks be cited on WP except for historical interest).
"In the 80s, this book was universally used & is therefore of significance
in the development of ..."
This last bit is not realistic. While it is still preferable to cite
the most recent edition, the fact is that people cite the edition that
is available to them. We cannot require people to go out and buy the
most recent edition before contributing. It's up to subsequent editors
to update the information if they have something more recent.
Ec