Are Print Editions An Endangered Species?
When I tell people I want to be a librarian I often hear, “isn’t that a dying profession?” Well, thanks for your support.
In all seriousness, the advent of the e-book is changing the way some people read, and libraries will need to evolve to accommodate the new technology. Are print books a dying breed, however?
You may recall hearing about Massachusetts’ Cushing Academy last fall. Cushing made headlines when the school’s administration decided to do away with their traditional library in favor of a digital center. The 20,000+ books in their collection were distributed amongst the faculty or given to area libraries and schools. Now—in place of novels, encyclopedias, and biographies—Cushing Academy students find large screen televisions, study carrels with laptop hookups, and a coffee shop (complete with cappuccino machine). Students can check out one of 18 e-readers available from the “digital center” should they wish to read literature. The reason for this quick leap into digital technology? They are shaping themselves to fit the emerging trends and optimize technology. Fair enough…but couldn’t they have dipped a toe in before jumping off the diving board? And, while this may work in a private academy such as Cushing where students likely come from higher income families, it will be a long time before public schools, with their financially diverse student bodies, can even begin to fathom such a drastic change.
Even if, in some technological utopia, everyone did have a portable device at the ready to hookup and download whatever materials they needed, is a digital version always better? Sure, you can download information quickly, and there are times when that is useful (reading celebrity autobiographies comes to mind), but how have you found some of your favorite books for pleasure reading? Likely some from sites like Amazon, and some from the recommendations of friends or blogs, but I know that I’ve discovered more than half of my favorite books by perusing the stacks in the library or getting lost in the shelves at my local bookstore. If we do away with print editions entirely, what happens to this organic experience of discovering a great book?
And, well, perhaps I’m a traditionalist. I find something romantic about feeling a book in my hands and smelling its pages (if you question how much I love that smell, just revisit my first post). But the importance of the printed word goes beyond romance. That tactile experience of a printed book ensures that the reader is fully engaged in the words written on the page. The latest e-reader technologies (yes, I’m thinking about the iPad) incorporate internet browsers and email—all things that distract readers from their reading.
But, while I am a romantic, I am also a realist (and a mini-techie, if only by marriage). I feel strongly that there is a place for both print and e-books, each with a purpose. I equate it to how I think about my kitchen. I have both a microwave (e-reader) and an oven (print). The microwave definitely has its benefits—it is convenient and I can prepare things quickly—but I still use my oven regularly, because some things you just can’t replicate in a microwave—roasted turkey anyone?
The Budding Librarian in bunny ears!
Like the microwave/oven analogy. I like to read in the bathtub. I think it would be risky to take an e-reader in there.
I just want to comment and say that I totally agree with you; books may one day go ‘out of style’ but I’m always going to prefer them to reading something on a screen.
That means something coming from a 15 year old.
Keep up the good work!
It is NOT a dying profession! Even with all the electronic sources available, people must remember two things: 1) not everything is available online, and 2) not every source available online is reliable. Even if everything were available online, librarians generally know what to search for whereas Little Johnny might not. Keep on it!
You have, of course, seen the Futurama episode with Mars University’s extensive library?
http://tinyurl.com/yk9zudq
I agree that there will always be print books, but for different reasons than you do.
First, there is permanence. Try and open a MS Word document from 1987. IF you can get it to open, tell me if you think it is formatted like it was if you viewed it in 1987. Do the same with a book from 1987, or 1887. Computers are still so new that we haven’t figured out all the format issues. Hell, the iBookstore uses a different format than the Kindle for ebooks! Not only that, but many of these ebooks are DRM protected, so that they are not only of a limited use format, but locked to individual devices which are not designed to function on a 30+ year time frame.
My second problem is the previously mentioned DRM. I don’t like when people tell me I can’t do things with the stuff I’ve paid for. It’s like buying a car and telling me I can only drive it on back roads and forcing the car to actually turn off if I ever try to take it on the interstate. If I buy a digital copy of something I should be able to archive it because I KNOW that digital media gets corrupted and that I’m likely going to live longer than any one digital storage device is going to function.
My last problem is an obscure thing that Amazon got in trouble for a few months back. It was discovered (or rather, revealed) that Amazon can use the Whispernet to delete books from your Kindle without your permission or even informing you. Turns out someone was selling a digital copy of a book when they didn’t own the rights to it. Amazon sent a command to delete all copies of the book and refund the purchasers the cost of the book. Amazon figured no harm was done. Some people freaked out: if Amazon can delete a book without you knowing, why can’t they change a book without you knowing? (Or simply put, delete the original and re-download a different version.) Now books are no longer immutable objects, but fluid and corruptible. What if some hacker (or maybe a government) decided to delete or alter some history textbook because they didn’t like what it said? “Hey, I didn’t know Martin Luther King, Jr. shot himself.”
Things to be aware of in the digital book world http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/02/16-0
A great topic for a post. Librarians are emerging as guides to digital information, helping to create critical consumers of digital information. Personally I would use an e reader when I am out and about but pick up the hard copy in the comfort of my home, so I see this as an evolving technology that I suspect will exist side by side with the current format. I note a previous commentor pointed out some of the intrinsic problems with e readers at the moment.
I also love the look, feel and smell of books, and enjoy the browsing process, although I despair of the current state of book shops, I find myself buying more and more online, (the subject of several rants on my blog), I am also finding I discover more and more titles via other peoples blogs. Interestingly my teenage daughter shares our love of the tactile nature of books, including the love of the fragrance of old pages. She is interested in the new IPad but has issues with some of it’s functionality or lack there of, but despite embracing the opportunities of digital information and technology, she has no interest in giving up actual books. I like your analogy with microwaves and ovens and suspect your spot on, these are side by side not replacement technologies. Another blogger Sari at The View From Sari’s World made some interesting observations on this very topic a week or so ago, worth checking out.
Good luck with the library studies, so not a dying profession, I am also completing post grad in library and info managment, if anything this is one of the most exciting and challenging times to be joining the profession.