Since the invention of the printing press around 1440, printing mediums such as books and newspapers became the center of culture and knowledge. However, with the fast development of the Internet especially in the early 1990s voices raised expecting the end of the printing press and books. Almost 20 years later books and newspapers still exist, but for how long?!
In Robert Coover`s study The End of Books, published in 1992, he said “The print medium is doomed and outdated technology”. Link.
However, in 1994 Annie proulx published an enthusiastic pro books study, Books On Top, she argues against the idea that expect the end of the traditional books. Saying that the books are small and adorable and can be used in waiting rooms, planes... etc. then she said “if you would know a man or a woman, look at their books, not their software”. Link. Books are not dead yet but most of her argument can look bizarre now since there is a small devices such as Amazon Kindle and iPads where many books can be stored and can be used to read any newspapers thru Internet. Also now if we want to know somebody we would look at their online profile.
The real argument is how much people like to read, even before people ability to have a whole library in their pocket stored in Amazon`s kindle or iPad. Publishing firms always promote to make people read more! Dorling Kindersley Books made a very nice and smart clip to encourage more reading (watch the YouTube clip above). But maybe digital library is better for knowledge since it’s easier to use and much practical than going to “dusty unattended museums we call libraries” as Coover called it in 1992. Link.
