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The Future of Books in the Digital Era

Change is obviously inevitable, but will printed books exist in the future? The most likely answer is yes, but they will look different. This is basically true because, in comparison to business correspondence or music, change has come more slowly and gradually to books. However, the emergence of digital era is actually going to speed up the change process. Printed books will however not die but will have different looks (Thompson, 1-5).

Digital era will enable printed books to be consumed primarily as e-books instead. This has been seen as good news as books will be easily accessible and cheaper as well (Thompson, 308-31). This is so because it is easier to manage large volume of books if they are downloaded to may be iPad or Kindle (Alexenberg, 21-23). Because of this, e-books are seen as slowly subsuming the printed ones preferred vehicle through which people read books. This was evident in 2011, when e-books actually topped print sales for the first time, a trend that basically continued into 2012. A recent study from Scholastic pointed out that, since 2010, the percentage of children who have read e-books has actually doubled while those who will continue reading printed books instead of e-books dropped from 66 percent to 58 percent (Cantatore, 231-233). Even though e-books have taken over the market because they have accomplished convenience, portability, selection and multimedia, some scholars hope that both e-books and printed books should have a bright future together because e-books lack some fundamental qualities that are possessed by printed books. These qualities explain why printed books will actually not die even in this digital era (Kaye and Stephen, 173).

Firstly, printed books can be collected. Each person’s copy is basically unique on some level and for a reader who loves a particular book; an e-book cannot be an adequate replacement for possessing a physical copy. Instead of owning a book, one has to pay for the right to access the data hence one cannot collect an e-book. This has facilitated many readers to go for physical copies even after having read the book online due to their tangible form (Alexenberg, 25). Secondly, books have physical beauty. As far as beauty is concerned, books have realized their potential. However, e-books, being a medium which is still new, designers are yet to realize their potential. A cover page of a book has to be beautiful to grab the attention of a reader because it acts as a marketing tool. Designing beautiful art pieces is a bit technical in the digital world. Print si therefore the only medium that satisfies true lovers of books (Kaye and Stephen, 173).

Even though computers may be portable as printed books, they have more limitations for instance, the need to access electricity (Thompson, 368). In addition, one requires to be computer literate to read e-books. Further, computer skills are actually more complex than reading skills. Advances in technology also demand a reader to adapt while reading skills are universal provided that the given language can be comprehended by the reader (Cantatore, 234-5). Further, newer technologies are usually expensive hence limiting the access to e-books, unlike printed books. Finally printed books are nostalgic and have provenance. E-books basically offer a wholly different experience and cannot replace printed books. In addition, printed books are physical objects matter hence evoke the past and e-books cannot impart deep connections (Thompson, 332).

It is evident that the choice between e-books and printed books should not be a zero sum game. It is needless for printed books to vanish for e-books to flourish and again they should not be the only choice. Both of them should be in existence because they satisfy different needs of readers. People who love printed books should be able to access them while those who love e-books should also be in a position to access them. This therefore implies that printed books will never die.

Work cited

Alexenberg, Melvin L. The Future of Art in a Digital Age: From Hellenistic to Hebraic Consciousness. Bristol, UK: Intellect, 2006. Internet resource. Pg 21-27

Cantatore, Francina. Authors, Copyright, and Publishing in the Digital Era. , 2014. Internet resource. Pg 231-235.

Kaye, Jeff, and Stephen Quinn. Funding Journalism in the Digital Age: Business Models, Strategies, Issues and Trends. New York: Peter Lang, 2010. Print. Pg 173

Thompson, John B. Books in the Digital Age: The Transformation of Academic and Higher Education Publishing in Britain and the United States. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2005. Print.