> It certainly has real value. Do we need to keep ... books as the real purpose ...

Max Headroom, episode ABC.1.3 "Body Bags":

    Paula: "...what's that?"
    Blank Reg: "It's a book!"
    Paula: "Well, what's that?"
    Blank Reg: "It's a non-volatile storage medium.
                It's very rare. You should have one."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me6oNB4M7N0

Books still work when the power goes out or the copyright cartels revoke - intentionally or not - your ereader's license. Widespread preservation of knowledge on non-volatile media is protection against future problems.