Are books dead?

That’s the question Richard Charkin (CEO Macmillan) poses today on his blog.   To answer that question fairly, I believe you need to consider the ways in which we use books. 

For centuries, books were the only mechanism available to store and share information. Wouldn’t you all agree that there are now much better ways to store, maintain, search, and retrieve information?

Would you rather have your doctor consult a regularly updated database for drug information or an annually published handbook?  In the area of professional reference – for use on the job – books have serious drawbacks. 

What about professional and personal development?

In the interest of full disclosure, I must confess that there is a new Amazon or 800CEOREAD package on my doorstep almost every week. Nothing beats the portability of a book for me – yet.  

Nothing allows me to do what I do with a book either. I highlight and tab my books and often refer back to them. When I pick up a book I’ve read, it’s immediately obvious where I have made notes (because of the tags sticking out all three available sides).

But, when technology enables me to do this as well with an electronic version of the book, I will.

What about the role of the book in recreation? 

This is where, I believe, it will take a bit longer to replace the book. There is nothing like curling up with a book and relaxing. I’m on the computer so much that a book is a nice change of pace. Books don’t hurt my eyes. They don’t cause repetitive stress injuries. A book is warm. I can’t explain that. I can’t justify it. But, I don’t think I’m alone in that either.

Books are not dead.

Are they dying?  

I’m not sure. They could just be shedding some of the uses for which they are no longer best suited. Time will tell.

UPDATE: Interesting post over on Buzz Machine that's worth checking out.

Are Books Dead? (Part 2)

Comments

[Larry Bryant]

I remember when books died -- A.D. 2000 or so. Replaced by the ebook, or so it seemed that it would happen. I attended the SSP annual meeting last week and the ebook of today was largely portrayed there as HTML or PDF via web delivery and intended for large PC desktop screen display (for what that's worth). Books live.

[Ann Michael]

Actually John, I think we might just be on the same page after all (pun intended).

managetochange.typepad.com/main/
2006/06/are_books_dead_.html

[John Dodds]

And I thought you bought everything I wrote Ann!

http://makemarketinghistory.blogspot.com/2006/05/worth-paper-its-not-written-on_21.html

[ming2.0]

.......and now my comment is longer than a post, so i'm going to copy it, and paste it on my blog.

see you there...

[Ann Michael]

You bring up a good point. Regardless of the future of the book from a utilitarian perspective, the book is an art form as well. I think that this question (are books dead) is answered much differently by an engineer than by an artist - don't you? The problem is that there are elements of truth and bias in both of their accounts!

PS - I think "writers" will always write!

[Ellen Webern]

Great post, Ann, and just today John UpDyke spoke on that topic at NPR. So the timing was perfect ... and he had a bit of another take. He felt concerned for people losing their art and their intellectual property... and he wondered if that would impact their incentive to write. What do you think?

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