truly dead
As Kindle passes a first year anniversary its Amazon library has grown from 75K to 200K titles. The suggestion is that Kindle, as a provider, can stream a lifetime of reading to the small screen. The pause here is what that means. Can we honestly sustain a full lifetime of reading without a single physical evidence of its passage? From time to time we should glance at a dark Kindle screen and realize the vacancy of it compared with the graceful, arrayed companionship of physical books.
Letís go beyond that; how will we enjoy an entire culture as transient as the evening news? All these devices are gadgets; the paper book as well as the hand-held electronic reader. But their uses for culture transmission vary. I am always amused when the death of print books is mentioned; I have a whole collection of truly dead e-book readers.
paper history channel
The machines and people who made
paper history and set the stage for the future of paper based media. Both photo and book output still include paper base markets, but very different.
flight of the condor 3
We will return to
Arequipa for Easter processions and library preservation. Enjoy this timely story by Archival Products Editor, Janice.
inert
Among attributes of the print book is an energy nil, inert state. Physical books can be stored without regard to battery leakage. They can be put in a pocket without any need to disable buttons. They can even be left, disregarded for centuries, and then be picked up and read whenever a new relevance emerges.
This energy cycle is actually the reverse of electronic transmission. Electronic transmission requires energy when not in use. More importantly, the energy of active content assimilation and thought is applied only when it returns meaning.