There has been a substantial reflection in recent months about the "future of books". Two pieces that have caught my attention, and worthy of consideration are John Green's essay The Future of Books, writen for the School Library Journal, and Corey Doctorow's How to destroy the book.
Both are excellent reads, and whilst this post is somewhat inspired by them, I'm going to digress straight away. I want to briefly discuss what seems to be a false dichotomy between bibliophiles and tech-lovers.
From these articles, and many others, there is a very conscious sense that this year is going to be a big year for e-readers. Australia will see the introduction of the Kindle as a common accessory, and we're all anxiously awaiting the Apple's "iSlate" portable netbook/tablet/e-reader, not to mention other competitors with e-reader capabilities. Similarly, in libraries, we're seeing a growth of periodicals and academic texts becoming available online, with many libraries considering the removal of their print collections if they are available through online subscriptions.
And here's the thing. I absolutely love the fact that if I want to, I will be able to download a new release book into my device, and have that immediate satisfaction of being able to start reading it in a lightweight device. I could happily lie in bed and read a book on an e-reader, the same way that I read a book. After all, I do most of my recreational online reading that way.
But here's the catch. I like to own my favourite books, and have them on a shelf for my own re-reading purposes. But moreso, my personal shelf collection is a part of my life. Whenever I need inspiration, cheering up, profound reflection on life, or the beauty of poetry, I can go straight up, gaze over the titles, pick one out, and flick through them. My collection is part of my personality, and the visual stimulus of physical books on a shelf is a necessary part of my natural habitat. It's my home.
Furthermore, I like to share. If somebody comes over to my house, and expresses an interest in one of my books, I'll take it off, and thrust it upon them, saying "Here! Read it, and then come back and tell me what you thought about it." For me, the mutual love, or hatred, or impassioned disagreement over books are what defines much of my relationship with people.
And, of course, this is all legal, because I paid to own the book. I can read it, and then give it to a friend to read, and so on. In the same way, libraries pay for books, so that they can be shared with a vast amount of the community. And then, once they start falling apart, or are no longer en vogue, then can be sold off in a second-hand book sale, and somebody can have the pleasure of owning a book that has been physically enjoyed by countless of other people in the community.
Basically, the real value in a physical book is that it can be shared. This is how it's been for centuries, even before the printing press was born. The book is an entity in itself, which can be kept, borrowed and/or re-sold.
And as a librarian, it's wonderful to be able to sing the praises of a book, and to be able to share the pleasure of reading with library patrons, and then place a copy of the book in somebody's hand, ready for them to check out and walk away. It's not quite the same to say "This book is great, and you can download it for $X from amazon or various other sites, depending on the brand of e-reader you own, if in fact you do own an e-reader, and no you won't be able to give it to anybody else, but you can recommend that they buy an e-book the same way."
Because, as Doctorow points out, it's not the same with an e-reader. When you download an e-book, you don't own it. You own a licence to read it, in the same way that you would own a licence to use a piece of computer software. But you may not share it. Unless, of course, you physically give your e-reader to a friend to borrow, so that they can read it that way. You don't own the book - you own the right to view the contents of the book on your device, but that's all.
And it's in this respect, that I honestly do not believe that the e-reader will "replace" the book, any more than pay-per-view film has replaced DVDs. I use iView (for example) to watch TV and films from ABC, but I also buy films and TV shows on DVD that I can share with other people.
Furthermore, the physical existence of a book is fundamental for it survival. You see books on display in bookstores, in libraries, on bookshelves and, most of all, in the streets - being read by people. The prominent titles and author's names, emblazoned on the front, as the hottest accessory of a reader passing the time on a 20-minute train trip. It's a conversation starter, when meeting somebody for a coffee and they notice it in your bag. Simply put - books sell themselves by being in the limelight, and they enrich our lives by being present and in the public eye. Again, it's about sharing the joy of reading in our community, and enriching the community simply by being present.
And, again, I will doubtlessly have my own portable e-reader in tow, as a solitary reading device. But I will never underestimate the power of the physical book in building communities, friendships, and fostering a love of literature and culture in the world.
E-readers will be valuable in facilitating ease of access and portability of a story. However, a good story is infinitely more valuable if it can be shared.
