In the world where technology serves as a convenience store to the human race, is there little hope left for the printed word? What does the future hold for magazines, newspapers, and books in the middle of its gyrating competition with their electronic counterparts? Witness history as eleven students take the challenge to voice out their opinions on the status of the print industry. Read, listen, see and believe. The Fine Print is an online publication owned by a group of Communication Arts students from De La Salle University Manila in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course subject Introduction to Print (INTPRIN). Any unauthorized distribution of content indicated in this site will be heavily penalized. Categories
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See For Yourself: ‘Physical’ Books are Invigoratingly Alive
written on Wednesday, December 11, 2013 @ 7:15 PM ✈
Alcaraz, Monaliza L.
Mr. Torrecampo
INTPRIN A51
12 December 2013
See For Yourself: ‘Physical’ Books are Invigoratingly Alive
(photo source: williamstopha @ Wordpress)
"Whether the book survives or not, I am firmly of the opinion that it ought to survive, and nothing will convince me otherwise." - Anthony Daniels
I. Introduction
The purpose of this essay is to rebut
an argument and a popular opinion that books are dying, near to its death or
worse, dead for the reason that ‘physical’ and print books are now sold in an
electronic format. This essay is going to discuss the reasons for people
believing the first sentence is true, and the supporting evidence I have
acquired through research that this is false. Also, as part of being human, my
emotions are intact and in no way can I write this essay without saying my
thoughts and feelings about this issue. I shall discuss in the next paragraph
the reports from book publishing companies.
II. Discussion
Book Sales
In
the April 2010 issue of Simba’s Book Publishing Report, the digital revolution
is evident in the decline of e-book users buying printed books and as
booksellers and retailers increasingly become aware of knowing a few people who
have an Amazon Kindle (12). However, this only focuses on bookstores.
Let’s
now focus on the bigger picture. Are people still buying printed books
elsewhere other than in bookstores? This serves to be true when the Book
Publishing Report released another issue two years after that says e-book
buyers did not totally disregard buying printed books (12). In fact, they still
do and if you look at the list below, it shows the places where e-book buyers
acquire printed books:
(photo source: Simba’s Book
Publishing Report, April 2013 issue)
I
assume that the decline is because there are other retailers of printed books
that eBook buyers can also buy from, and it is to their convenience to have as
many options. In last November’s issue, Simba provided its readers with ideas
on how book sales can push through even with new technology. The publishers
must do their best to convince the consumer-citizens that books are valuable
enough to give them as gifts especially on a holiday (2). The next paragraph
shall discuss a report on the future of producing print in North America.
An Example: Print Handling Strategy
The
decrease of page volumes is not to worry about. According to Marco Boer,
“contrary to popular belief mostly fueled by media saturations, e-books, iPads,
and other similar devices are not the root cause for the decline in page volume
within the various print applications...Instead, the true major change-agent is
a shift in business models. These business model changes emerge from a
business’ desire to be more efficient, timely, and thrifty all the while also
addressing the communication needs and desires of its customer” (Joss 2). Since
the focus of this essay is about books, the relatively good news is that “book
printing will not be affected by the rise in e-book usage for at least another
five years” (4).
Public Libraries
What about public libraries? How are
they doing?
When
it comes to public libraries, lending of books are still very prevalent because
of the availability of the print format (Book Publishing Report November 2012)
and having multiple copies of one book ready for circulation (Gray and Copeland
337). Libraries, nowadays, are no longer limited to having print copies because
online references are now available online. There are even times when the
circulation of e-books go at a similar rate as printed books (337).
Since
majority of the libraries are still traditional, there exists the social
interaction between the lender and the lendee of ‘physical’ books (Book
Publishing Report November 2012) and in comparison to digital accessing of reference
materials, the most relevant skill people must have is being practiced:
communication.
Students Decide: Print or Online?
A
journal article written by Alice Keller in her research to investigate the
habits and preferences of undergraduate students in reading is one of the most
fab articles I have ever read (mostly because it is very relatable). To direct
the idea of Alice Keller’s article, the perceptions of students on printed and
online text are contrastingly different and their habits show that even though
they have more reading occurrences on the screen does not mean that the hours
devoted to reading are likewise longer (Keller 9). In reality, the spend more
hours reading printed books whereas on screen is for skimming which takes
minutes (9).
The
students take into consideration the advantages and disadvantages of either the
two mediums and by doing so, it conveniently goes according to how they want or
need to manage their time and this is also being influenced by how they ‘see’
the two mediums. According to Keller, “students generally believed that there
was something a bit more authoritative
about print...” whereas “electronic texts were perceived as more ephemeral
or disposable, containing so much trivial
stuff” (9).
In
an interview a student says, “...Searching for words, when you’re getting
desperate to find things. (Hilary, English)” when she was asked about the
benefits of eBooks (10). What are the advantages of print? Find out in the next
paragraph.
The Advantages of Print
Print holds certain advantages that
make it fit to exist at the same time as the electronic-based medium (Joss 5).
The fixity of print (Joss 5; Panero 6) ascertains that its readers are going to
get good quality content because print undergoes strict evaluation, analysis,
and editing. Even as a student, I revise, analyze, and rewrite my essays before
submitting them, and I hope everyone is in the habit of doing so.
Second,
print controls the access of readers (5). Why is this relevant? The author
deserves credit for her/his work and so, there exists the copyright. It is also
important to consider that printed books are for the sole purpose of reading
the written text which enables a person to concentrate. Lastly, books are
forever yours to keep once you purchase them (Mies 34), and all you need is
light to accompany you with reading (Panero 8).
The Disadvantages of Electronic Books (eBooks)
For
a person to access eBooks in the ‘digital publishing market’, that person must
have one of the following devices: Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble’s Nooks,
Apple iPad, netbooks, laptops, desktop computers, and so on (Chiang-nan Chao et
al. 53). But that is not all because s/he will also be needing a reliable
broadband connection or wi-fi, router, hard drive, and electricity (Panero 8).
Another concern is incompatibility of the gadgets you have and the eBooks
(Chiang-nan Chao et al. 53) you either purchase or acquire for free make them
unreadable.
In
addition to the previous paragraph, the eBooks are merely temporarily available
(Mies 34) like hyperlinks that have expiration dates. There are times when the
screen of the device might go black, and the files might get corrupt if exposed
to a virus (Chiang-nan Chao et al. 55).
Even
if it is an expensive route to reading or even it does have its complications,
we should not dismiss eBooks because without them, I would not have been able
to learn all these things coming from reports and journal articles online.
Everything has its disadvantages, but I strongly believe that eBooks will develop
even more throughout the years.
Some
Other Things to Consider
Jeff
Staiger, a Librarian in the University of Oregon, got his literature review
published as a feature article and it is about how e-books are being used. He
included recommendations from other authors such as Jamali et al.:
Although students seem to favor
e-books for pragmatic reasons such as avoiding going to the library,
convenience of use, added features such as searching, and copy and pasting are
not thought to be sufficiently friendly... Printing features need to be
improved and there should be systematic plans and programs organized by
librarians for promoting e-books and improving student’s information literacy
skills in order to get the maximum from e-books (361).
Jeff Staiger also included in his
article another author whose name is Walton and his analysis on “the growing
presence of e-books in academic libraries” (361) that is for me very
problematic:
Thus, e-books are not being read but
are being used to find relevant information that will support an argument in a
research paper. In this cut and paste environment, critical thinking is
lacking. Students are not critically analyzing the material for appropriateness
to their arguments, but are quoting a source without contextualizing the
author’s argument...Students do not read enough of the work to understand the
author’s arguments. However, they quote the author as though they do understand
(361).
The
students, I myself, should stay away from the habit of thinking that e-books are
easily accessible and disregarding the fact that we need to analyze the written
text without ripping them out of context. We should therefore be more
responsible in understanding and making sense of what the author is trying to
say and what s/he means by reading and re-reading the texts patiently. A lesson
we, from the copy culture, must learn to be able to appreciate what the print culture continues to
value ever since Gutenburg. As Mark Twain had once said:
What the world is today, good and bad,
it owes to Gutenberg...Everything can be traced to this source, but we are
bound to bring him homage...for the bad that his colossal invention has brought
about is overshadowed a thousand times by the good with which mankind has been
favored (Panero 5).
Analysis
Ever
since we were asked to do this essay and post it online, I have always wondered
in my mind how the library is going to be like without printed books let alone
my second home (DLSU-M) without a ‘library’. What if it really comes true that
the print culture will be overcome by the copy culture? How are we,
bibliophiles, going to deal with it? How will knowledge ever be attained by
those who are have a great love or ‘obsession’ for electronic gadgets?
We
must consider learning the impacts of new technology to our lives because we
might just miss the chance of getting to know the importance of old values. It
is for our own good and the good of those who are yet to come to this level of
awareness. We must be able to instill in our lives the values that the print
culture has bestowed upon us.
You
might consider it as a gift you can either accept or reject. If you choose the
latter thus, it is too dark to read.
The
author of this essay suggests you to read:
1. The Digital Challenge I: Loss &
gain, or the fate of the book by Anthony Daniels
2. The Digital Challenge III: The Culture
of the Copy by James Panero
Works
Cited
No author. “Retailer Watch: E-Book
Buyers Purchase Print (Here’s Where).” Book
Publishing
Report (2013): 12. EBSCO. Web. 22 November
2013.
No author. “Retailer Watch: The
Trickle-Away Effect in Action.” Book Publishing Report
(2010): 12. EBSCO. Web. 22 November
2013.
No author. “Where Things Stand with
Free and Borrowed Print Books.” Book Publishing
Report
(2012): 1-2. EBSCO. Web. 22 November 2013.
Chiang-nan, Chao, Leonora Fuxman, and
Hilmi Elifoglu. “Electronic Books Impact
Global Environment: An Empirical Study
Focus on User Perspectives.” Journal of Management and Strategy 4.2 (2013): 52-59. EBSCO. Web. 22
November 2013.
Daniels, Anthony. “The Digital
Challenge I: Loss & Gain, or the Fate of the Book.” The
New
Criterion (2012): 4-9.
EBSCO. Web. 22 November 2013.
Gray, David, and Andrea Copeland.
“E-Book versus Print: A Per-Title Cost and Use
Comparison of a Public Library’s
Popular Titles.” Reference & User Services Quarterly 51.4 (2012): 334-339. EBSCO. Web. 22
November 2013.
Joss, Molly. “PRIMIR Looks to the
Future of Production Print in North America.” The
Seybold
Report 13.2 (2013): 2-6. EBSCO. Web. 22
November 2013.
Keller, Alice. “In Print or On Screen?
Investigating the Reading Habits of Undergraduate
Students Using Photo-Diaries and
Photo-Interviews.” Libri 62
(2012): 1-18. EBSCO. Web. 22 November 2013.
Mies, Ginny. “Skeptical Shopper: The
Pros and Cons of Buying E-Books.” PC World
(2009): 34. EBSCO. Web. 22 November
2013.
Panero, James. “The Digital Challenge
III: The Culture of the Copy.” The New Criterion
(2013): 4-9. EBSCO. Web. 22 November
2013.
Staiger, Jeff. “How E-Books are Used: A
Literature Review of the E-Book Studies
Conducted from 2006-2011.” Reference
& User Services Quarterly 51.4
(2012): 355-365. EBSCO. Web. 22 November 2013.
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