Tuesday, October 6, 2015

E-books and reading

This is something I have long wondered about: will e-books ever "eclipse" print books as the medium of choice?

So many different types of media have come into the mainstream and then become "just another option" or simply faded away when superseded by another medium.

This article from the New York Times seems to indicate that the frenzy for e-books might be cooling. That might mean that at least in libraries e-books, like any other new media, will simply be assimilated into the collection. I personally think that the more ways we can have to share ideas with each other, the better.

I could be smug and say, "I told you so!" and that I thought e-books were a fad or something. But I would be lying if I said that I really thought print books were never in danger of disappearing. There have been moments, especially with the sustained media frenzy over e-books, that I thought the tide had risen too high for print. And, of course, print still might disappear someday. The information about sales in the NYT article seems to indicate though that print books, book stores, and libraries might still have a place in society and an important one at that.

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