The Future of the Book in the Digital Age

Citation

Barker, P. (2007), "The Future of the Book in the Digital Age", The Electronic Library, Vol. 25 No. 4, pp. 481-483. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640470710779916

The history of writing (and publishing) is an interesting one. Starting with marks on sand or cave walls, it has evolved to become a remarkable mechanism for recording and disseminating the results of human endeavour. During this evolution, the “book” has emerged (both in its conventional and electronic forms) as one of the foremost methods for recording knowledge and communicating ideas, facts and fiction between people of all nationalities, cultures and ages. So, what future does this communication artefact have alongside such competitors as television, film, radio, computers and the iPod? This book attempts to explore this issue by posing and suggesting answers to the following three broad questions:

1. 1.

   What developments are helping to sustain or disrupt the book's place in our world?

2. 2.

   Do the new media represent a threat or an opportunity?

3. 3.

   What is the book's future as a creature of, and conduit for, human creativity?

Following the editors' introductory chapter, the 14 contributions that make up the remainder of this book were each presented as papers at the Third International Conference on the Book which was held in Oxford (UK) in May 2006. The conference was hosted by the Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies. The contributions to the book originate from an international group of authors – each one coming from a different publishing background. Together, they bring a wide spectrum of experience to bear on the questions posed above. They also provide a broad vision of what the future might hold for books and their methods of publication.

The main part of the book starts off with an anecdotal chapter that discusses the issue of whether or not today's students actually read books. It also considers the prevalence of the “if it's not on the Internet, it doesn't exist” syndrome. The following chapter looks at two different book publication strategies: “sell and produce” and “produce and sell” – and the effect that print‐on‐demand and digital technologies have on these. Chapter 4 introduces the value chain in publishing and considers the influence of the internet on this. Of particular importance is the added value (if any) that publishers can provide to authors now that self‐publishing and self‐promotion are possible via the internet. Self‐publishing mechanisms and facilities are subsequently considered in greater depth in Chapter 5. The authors of Chapter 6 describe and discuss the various patterns of book consumption within the European Union and attempt to correlate these with educational levels and competitivity. The following chapter then considers the future of reading as a cultural behaviour in a multi‐channel media environment. Chapter 8 attempts to analyse bookselling culture and consumer behaviour in relation to marketing strategies (and consequent responses by consumers) in UK chain bookshops.

The author of Chapter 9 discusses internet bookstores in Sweden and their influence on the book trade and the general consumption of reading material. The following chapter then considers the provision of opportunities for “new voices” in relation to writing and the authoring of new books. Although conventional books are print‐based, other media can also be used for their publication. Chapter 11, for example, illustrates this in relation to “audio books”. However, it is often the case that the two media are not always used consistently and problems can arise as a result of the transcription of text into audio form. Of course, multimedia books may help to overcome some of these problems. The authors of Chapter 12 discuss the future of librarianship and the changing role of libraries as computer and information access technologies play a greater role in facilitating library services. Indeed, as is discussed in the following chapter, media convergence, the merging of services, open access to electronic resources and institutional repositories have had, and are likely to continue to have a considerable influence on the publishing industry and on libraries. In the penultimate chapter of the book the authors explore the influence of globalisation and digital print technologies on the future of book publishing. The final essay discusses the importance of exposing people to “first‐hand” experiences using primary documents; the author claims that significant “motivational” effects can arise from exposure to real authentic documents (and other experiences) as compared to what is achieved through second‐hand (or virtual) representations of them.

Overall, I think this book offers a very interesting collection of essays that (in my view) provide lots of evidence that is suggestive of an ongoing future for printed books. For example, on page 81 it is claimed that: “even though it is more than five hundred years old, the printed book remains one of the most important carriers and transmitters of knowledge”. And again, on page 107 the evidence suggests that: “reading books continues to be a cultural behaviour and will not be displaced by any other media in the foreseeable future”. Undoubtedly, this evidence seems to indicate that, in one form or another, books will be with us for some time to come.