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[Urist McDagger]

I know books won't be producible for a while, but..

There could be a ledger for each year, with stocks updated seasonally. If there is no way to create a ledger (due to not having a book), then the stocks screen will be blank. If there is no way to update that year's ledger (due to having no bookkeeper, or if the bookkeeper cannot get to a book), then the ledger (and therefore stocks screen) won't be updated. If the ledger is lost, and there are no copies, then information for that year is lost.

If you find a fortress ledger in adventure mode, and are literate, then you could read it. It could just include the numbers, or it could tell where everything is. Also, and this might be hard/impossible to code, a literate npc that somehow got one could read it as well to learn where your stuff is, how much you have, how much they could take before someone notices, and how easily they could steal it.

How many axes and ballista bolts you have might even be useful information for seigers if the last part could be put in.

[C27]

You'd need to be able to make paper, from logs and/or from rope material, at a paper mill (maybe a special workshop that uses a millstone and power supply).
You'd need to make ink, probably from either dye plants or special ink plants, at a farmer's workshop.
You'd need a printing press workshop.
You might need a new Printer skill/labor.

I like the idea. We could also maybe make bookshelves as furniture decorations, and designate Library zones where off-duty dwarves could go to read. Possibly this could help them pick up random or specific skill training.

If books are discrete items, they could have descriptions (as if they were decorated) and quality levels - masterwork and artifact books could give a higher learning rate as well as happy thoughts.

This is "Dimpledcats the Egg of Chastising", a well-written treatise on swordsdwarfship by Urist Lancedrenewed. The binding is cat leather decorated with an image of a snailman in copper. Its 491 pages are rope reed paper printed with blue dimple cup ink.

[Uristocrat]

You'd need to be able to make paper, from logs and/or from rope material, at a paper mill (maybe a special workshop that uses a millstone and power supply).
You'd need to make ink, probably from either dye plants or special ink plants, at a farmer's workshop.
You'd need a printing press workshop.
You might need a new Printer skill/labor.

They don't really need to print copies of the stockpile records on a printing press.  Who would read all of those, anyhow?  They just need someone to write in them, by hand, at their desk.  Grab a few feathers for use as pens (there are many birds to get these from and they wear out with use), use existing dyes as inks, figure out how to make logs into wood pulp, then turn that into paper.  Finally, bind the sheets in leather with a bit of thread and you have a book.  Pretty much everything we need exists, except for a way to make paper.

[peskyninja]

From the mainpage : "Jumped the gun on books a bit to make necromancer towers more varied (thought I was going to do grammar first, but physically, that was unimportant). We had a wizard game from a long time ago with fun little generated books, so we went for that. As usual, it'll be more interesting later, but you can currently read them and learn. If you can read."

[Kattaroten]

About time to introduce books to bookkeeping xD

[Aquillion]

I believe the idea is to eventually have the bookkeeper produce Moria-style records that later explorers can find in your fortress, detailing your tragic decline and sudden fall to the horrors that were unleashed from the depths.

[Jake]

They don't really need to print copies of the stockpile records on a printing press.  Who would read all of those, anyhow?  They just need someone to write in them, by hand, at their desk.  Grab a few feathers for use as pens (there are many birds to get these from and they wear out with use), use existing dyes as inks, figure out how to make logs into wood pulp, then turn that into paper.  Finally, bind the sheets in leather with a bit of thread and you have a book.  Pretty much everything we need exists, except for a way to make paper.

There could be uses for multiple copies, actually. The Mountainhome might need proper records of the fort's annual generated wealth if you choose to become a barony, or for levying taxes. The player could use them to track productivity over a period of years, some data getting lost if a set of records gets destroyed.

Also, paper shouldn't be the only available method. Wax and clay tablets, papyrus or even bamboo should also provide a source of writing material if timber is in short supply.

And I like C27's idea a lot. Dwarves with a particularly high skill in something could occasionally experience something a little like a strange mood and write treatsies on their craft, which could be used in several ways to aid other dwarves in levelling up faster and mitigate skill rust. Others could be inspired to write sagas or poetry that their fellow dwarves might choose to read in their spare time.

[Urist McDagger]

I believe the idea is to eventually have the bookkeeper produce Moria-style records that later explorers can find in your fortress, detailing your tragic decline and sudden fall to the horrors that were unleashed from the depths.

That was pretty much the main thing I had in mind. Then I realized the potential for Elfy McDiplomat sneaking a few records away to help plan the next siege.

[Silverionmox]

Obviously dwarves would just as easily engrave their stock records on the walls... For the more temporary kind of paperwork a load of slate plates is very suitable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slate_(writing)

[UltraValican]

I just assumed "book keepers" used stone slabs and wedges.

[Deimos56]

Also, paper shouldn't be the only available method. Wax and clay tablets, papyrus or even bamboo should also provide a source of writing material if timber is in short supply.

Wax on a rock slab for a writing surface for things that don't necessarily have to be permanent, perhaps. Heat it and smooth the wax out and you're ready to re-use it. Wouldn't need ink, either.

And, since we're talking about dwarves, I like the idea of carving stone tablets as a [very] limited variant of a book  - either only being able to hold simple information (partial book-keeping screen?) or requiring multiple tablets to accomplish anything (full book-keeping screen, but you need like 12 tablets/year).

Later, books could be used for things like cooking recipes and spellbooks... Dwarves may decide to write their own books or journals (terribly at first, until they learn to write better) on what they've learned about a skill, either to share with the fort, sell to travelers, or reduce skill rust a bit.

[ravaught]

Well, for starters, everyone seems so hung on the concept of books that they completely seem to have overlooked the more common idea of scrolls made from animal skins, which are already in abundance in the world so there would be nothing to re-code, and they would fit more in line with the time frame and technology level, particularly for early embarkation.

I don't think that not having a book should keep the player from getting at least mostly accurate stock data though. It is possible to do inventory with nothing but sticks and a knife if it comes down to it. It might be the ingredient needed for 'all counts accurate' mode though.

As far as the sagas, poetry, etc etc, I would like to see those get blended in with other crafts. For example, the clothing maker or spinner might do a tapestry or embroider an epic, the engraver would chisel into the wall, floor, or a piece of furniture, the metal smith would do it on metal plates, etc etc. When I think of Dwarfs, I think of a race that wants whatever they create to last as long as the rocks and mountains themselves, so I think that paper might be a little non-dwarfy.

[FrisianDude]

Also, paper shouldn't be the only available method. Wax and clay tablets, papyrus or even bamboo should also provide a source of writing material if timber is in short supply.

Goblin vellum.

[ravaught]

Yup, I missed that  Another use would be for architects, requiring them to have one scroll/tablet/book/etin skin per construction(bridges etc). As a bonus, if the construction is sufficiently large or complicated, the blueprints could become special items after the work has completed, similar to how ship builders and architects will often keep models or drawings of their projects as mementos.

[Jake]

As far as the sagas, poetry, etc etc, I would like to see those get blended in with other crafts. For example, the clothing maker or spinner might do a tapestry or embroider an epic, the engraver would chisel into the wall, floor, or a piece of furniture, the metal smith would do it on metal plates, etc etc. When I think of Dwarfs, I think of a race that wants whatever they create to last as long as the rocks and mountains themselves, so I think that paper might be a little non-dwarfy.

That's not a bad idea, but they'd still probably have to start out with some paper or a slate. Neither are tapestries, engraved metal plates etc especially portable or easy to replicate. Hand-rendered or even printed copies of a particularly good saga or engraving could be a valuable trade commodity.