The Future of Printed Books in the Digital Age

714 Words2 Pages

Introduction
Print publishing has been credited for the long standing preservation of literary works of numerous authors, both past and present. This system of preserving the intellectual nuances of personages, customarily through books, is what affords for the realization by future generations of what the past looked like, in terms of the events and people that characterized it. In essence, books, according to Dixon-Fyle, link the idea or sentiments of authors to certain fundamental cultural and societal practices that enunciate the background of a particular civilization over time. However, the recent spate of technology that announced the entry of the digital age has cast a dingy decadence on the future of printed books, and the whole conventional practice of print publishing. The question that many academicians, librarians and other relevant stakeholders have constantly barraged themselves with is; will the digital age render print books obsolete?
Basis of the Discussion
The discussion into the relevance of this question can only be fabricated based on the definitive consideration of the internet, a key digital facet that expedites the abrasion of print publications. The internet has rendered access to information very effective, easy and strategic. Gone are the days when one would walk miles to the nearest library in order to satisfy their appetite for reading. With the internet, information storage has largely been restructured and can be retrieved in various digital forms. It is therefore commonsensical to assume that many publications, previously in print form, will eventually appear in digital format as e-books. To champions of printed books, this futuristic scenario provides the basis for their arguments.
Arguments i...

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...igitization.” This does not necessarily imply that printed books will altogether disappear, but that their appearance, usage and milieu will be repurposed. Therefore, it is only rational for stakeholders such as academicians, authors and publishers to envision the future of printed books in the digital age, so as to better anticipate the changes that are, without a doubt, destined to occur.

Works Cited

Dixon-Fyle, Joyce. “The Future of the “Book” in Light of the Present Rise in “E” Publications.” Charleston Library Conference (2009): 228. http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1036&context=charleston
Staley, David J. “Futures Thinking for Academic Librarians: Scenarios for the Future of the Book.” Association of College & Research Libraries (2012): 3, 8, & 9. http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/issues/value/scenarios2012.pdf

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