The Book Is Back - John Miedema - Thinking Ahead 2008

The Book is Back The Complementary Relationship Between Digital and Print Technologies Thinking Ahead 2008 March 2008 Salt Lake City, Utah

Introduction
John Miedema
IT Specialist, IBM
Library Student, UWO
Slow Reading: research, blog
[email_address]
http:// johnmiedema .ca

The “Darkest Hour” of the Book
Mid-70’s: the paperless office
80’s: word processors outsell typewriters
Lancaster: the paperless library
90’s: personal computer and the Internet
’ 92: Kurzweil in Library Journal

We Were Wrong
“ Global paper products consumption has tripled over the past three decades, and is expected to grow by half again before 2010” - WRI

Explanation 1: It’s Only a Matter of Time
Large volume of print to digitize
Copyright
Kindle or Sony or …
Intransigence: millennials

Explanation 2: Books Have an Enduring Role
The passing of the book is always bemoaned as a regrettable event
Why regrettable?
Nostalgia?

Explanations for the Persistence of the Book
“ The specifications of the book far exceed those of the computer in almost every respect. … A book boots instantly; it is random access; it has high contrast and great performance. If it came after the laptop, we would say the book is a great invention”
Gershenfeld, MIT

Explanations for the Persistence of the Book
Cost
Authority
Fixity
Cultural importance

The Book Is Back
When is digital the best format?
When is print the best format?
Searchability and workability vs. readability
A complementary relationship, not a break: the book is back

Implications for Libraries
Library 2.0 will not “save” libraries
OCLC Environmental Scan 2005. Libraries = books. A solid anchor.
Librarianship > Library Technology

Topic: e-Books (vs. books, green debate)
Topic: Slow Reading (literacy in the 21 st century)
Topic: The Arc of Technology (future of the web and libraries)
Focus Topics

Discussion
The Book is Back. Too obvious? Or backward thinking?
What would it take to perfect the e-Book?
Real issue is not print/books. It’s literacy. Are books better for literacy?

Focus: e-Books
“ Read an e-Book Week”: March 2-8
Great for searching, copying
Lousy for reading, licensing
Debate: environment, preservation, cost
A better e-Book: digital ink, paper
Why e-Books can never replace books: fixity

Focus: Slow Reading
Fast reading vs. slow reading
Origins in Humanities, more recently in the Slow Movement
Locality
Real issue is literacy
Schools of Library and Reading Studies

Focus: The Arc of Technology
Promise of AI: Automate information finding
AI has failed: the frame problem has never been solved
Web has taken a “You” turn – coming back to earth: physical: books, Web 2.0, librarians
Librarians more vital than ever
The Semantic Web: Ontology is a manual task

Barber, Benjamin. (1996). Jihad vs. McWorld : How globalism and tribalism are reshaping the world. NY: Ballatine. De Rosa, C. et al (2005). Perceptions of libraries and information resources: A report to the OCLC membership. Dublin, Ohio: OCLC. Harris, Michael & Hannah, Stan (1993). Librarians confront the post-industrial era. In Into the future: The foundations of library and information services in the post-industrial era (pp.33-58). Norwood, New Jersey: Ablex. Jacobson, J. (1997). The last book. IBM systems journal, 36(3). Retrieved from http://www.research. ibm .com/journal/ sj /363/ jacobson .html . Kurzweil, Raymond (1992). The future of libraries, part 2: The end of books. Library Journal , 117(3) , 140-143. Retrieved from http://www. kurzweilai .net/meme/frame.html?main=/articles/art0261.html . Sources

Sources – 2 Nunberg, Geoffrey. (1996). Farewell to the information age. In Geoffrey Nunberg (Ed.), The future of the book (103-138). Berkeley: University of California Press. Sellen, Abigail J. and Harper, Richard H.R. (2002). The myth of the paperless office . Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT. Wiegand, Wayne A. (1997). Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Why Don't We Have Any Schools of Library and Reading Studies? Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, v38 n4 p314-26 Fall 1997 WRI. Global environmental trends: Production and consumption. Retrieved from: http://www. wri .org/publication/content/8440

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The Book Is Back - John Miedema - Thinking Ahead 2008

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