Marks On Paper

Physically, a book is ink marks on paper. It comes to life when read. RG Collingwood argued that, if copies of Shakespeare's works survived but the ability to read and understand English was lost, then the works would no longer exist. They exist only in the minds of theatre audiences and readers and can be transmitted in different physical media. 

If this is the case, then we maintain decades-old short stories like Poul Anderson's "The Pugilist," "A Man To My Wounding" etc by reading and rereading them. The texts are lifeless until reread. Keep them alive.