Will books disappear?

1. 74

   Pavlo Badovskyyposted 12 years ago

   Will books disappear?
   
   Would you agree that paper books refer to endangered species and will disappear earlier or later under pressure of the internet?

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2. 61

   Pennypinesposted 12 years ago

   NO I DO NOT AGREE.  Printed books are an art form just as printed music, great paintings, and all forms of creativity. 
   The works of great authors are timeless, they endure through the ages, that is why libraries whether private or public will always be with the human race.  That is also why many religious books are illuminated, why leather was used in binding, why many books today are printed on acid free paper, to ensure their lasting quality.

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   1. 74

      Pavlo Badovskyyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      You are right if we talk about the book as a collectable thing on a glossy paper. But as a source of knowledge I think they are doomed. Look how many of your kids bring e-books to school instead of paper ones?

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3. 61

   lilian1posted 12 years ago

   I would be very surprised if books disappeared e-books even though handy just dont have the same appeal ...

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4. 88

   aethelthrythposted 12 years ago

   I think later if at all.  There are still scrolls around, 2000 years after codex form started with Julius Caesar (I think), and there are people like me who would probably buy a book printed on a scroll just for fun.  Also, there have been scroll-like forms of information recently - back when computers printed out on the paper that tore apart in sections, some days people just left it folded up and/or rolled it up, because that was easier.  So the form information is in depends a lot on the technology it comes from rather than what is customary for the time.
   
   In general most of my life codex form for books has been easier than scrolls.  I could see the same thing happening with ebooks.  But although it would solve my problem of wanting to bring more books than clothes on a trip, I have yet to read an ebook or see a Kindle from closer than several feet away.  I think there will be books around as long as my generation of readers is around.
   
   Also, "everybody" says printed books will go away, but I think it was the 1970s when "everybody" was saying we would soon have a paperless society.  Instead, paper increased because of personal printers and copiers, and I would say only in the last 5 years have I noticed less paper in my life as a result of computers.  (And the paperwork still exists, probably copied a thousandfold, in digital form.)  So I'll believe printed books going away when I see it.
   
   I better quit before I write a Hub about this, which I don't want to do because then I will get nostalgic about filmstrips, vinyl records, cassette tapes, and computers where you actually had to write a program to make it do anything....

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   1. 74

      Pavlo Badovskyyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you aethelthryth! You answer is, like always, very substantial! I never thought of scrolls which still DO excist and did not disappear yet. More than that in Asia in some countries they are used pretty widely. Your point of view gives hope!

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5. 99

   donnah75posted 12 years ago

   I hope not.  There is nothing more relaxing than reading a good book.  It is sometimes nice to disconnect from all the technology.  I, for one, will continue to buy and borrow books as long as they are available.  Plus, with all the books stacked up in my house than they won't disappear.

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   1. 74

      Pavlo Badovskyyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I would rather treat e-books as a substitute to papers ones. But the question was much more about internet and finding information in internet instead of books. Book tend (only to my opinion) not to be any more an initial sourse of information.

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6. 60

   mrwilson1216posted 12 years ago

   I seriously doubt books will disappear. There are people (myself included) that still like the feel of a book in hand. Besides, if books go away so do libraries.

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