Are Books Becoming Extinct?

With the advent of Gutenberg’s printing press in the 15th century the place books would hold in society changed drastically. The printing press allowed for the reproduction of books in an economically viable way and for the dissemination of knowledge at a faster rate and to more people. Since this time, books have held a special place in society and were treated with a certain reverence especially being viewed as an authority on all knowledge. The textbook, for example, is seen as the supreme authority in classrooms, even above the teacher. Many of us, as teachers have had the experience of trying to combat misinformation printed in a textbook and have recognised the difficulties in trying to do so. There are good reasons for the value placed on books because the permanence of the information, the edited nature of information and the writer is usually an authority on the subject matter.

However, the role of printed books has changed with the introduction of the electronic devices and the internet. When digital books came into production many believed that this was a fad that would not last because of the size and immobility of the devices that were being used at the time. Ong (2002) even noted that “electronic devices are not eliminating printed books but are actually producing more of them” (p. 132). The technology has surpassed the expectations of that time and has even moved faster than we imagined. In the early days of e-books and other digital media there was much distrust about the validity of the content but that has changed and even academics are favouring electronic journals (Dewan, 2012). I remember in my earlier college days including references from online sources was frowned upon, now these resources are treated as commonplace. Bolter (2001) notes that “electronic technology provides a range of new possibilities, whereas the possibilities of print have been played out” (p.10). It therefore begs the question are we seeing the end of books and print media?

The technological advances we have witnessed so far, have already started to change the way we approach reading and how we process information. Carr (2008) in his article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” notes that he has difficulties sitting down to read a book hundreds of pages long because his use of online resources has changed his reading pattern. He further supports his personal experience by citing a study of visitors to two popular research sites in the United Kingdom which found that visitors were more likely to read one or two pages of a book before moving on to the next source. Others have noted that as the technology changes we are likely to see a more dynamic reading experience that connects writer, text and reader – which is a connection the printing press disrupted (Assmann, 2006).

This brings us back to the question of whether books and print media are dying. While the golden age of books maybe over I would not be quick pronounce last rites over books. There are many persons who still love the feel of a book and there are many of us who have had the embarrassing experience of trying to read a text from an electronic device only for it to go blank. The permanent nature of books will also be a feature that is sought after. Technology may have changed the importance of books and how we interact with them, but I would argue that it has not sounded the death knell.

References
Assmann, A. (2006). The printing press and the internet: From a culture of memory to a
culture of attention. In N. Gentz & S. Kramer (Eds.), Globalization, cultural identities, and media representations,
(pp.11-23). Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Bolter, D. (2001). Writing space: Computers, hypertext and the remediation of print. London:
Routledge.

Carr, N. (2008). Is Google making us stupid? Yearbook of the National Society for the Study
of Education, 107(2), 89-94.

Dewan, P. (2012). Are books becoming extinct in academic libraries? New Library
World, 113(1/2), 27-37.

Ong, W. J. (2002). Orality and literacy: The technologizing of the word (2nd ed.). New York,
NY: Routledge.