The future of the book in the digital age
With contributions from some of the worlds̕ leading authorities, this publication considers the future of the book in the digital age. As more books are published than ever before, this timely publication addresses a range of critically important themes relating to the book - including the present and future for publishing, libraries, literacy and learning in the information society. In the early 1990s the printed word appeared to be facing a terminal crisis, threatened from all sides by new media and other forms of entertainment. Subsequently the book has proved to be resilient in the face of these challenges, confounding the predictions of those who saw its replacement, whilst digital technology is providing mechanisms that enhance our ability to produce and distribute printed books. New developments, such as the growth of self-publishing and print on demand, and initiatives from major players such as Amazon and Google, mean that the printed book is in the middle of great changes
Conference papers and proceedings
xx, 226 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
9781843342410, 9781843342403, 1843342413, 1843342405
70264476
Introduction; If it isn’t on the Internet, it doesn’t exist; Plus ça change … print on demand reverts book publishing to its pre-industrial beginnings; Where is the value in publishing? The Internet and the publishing value chain; Venues for vanity: methods and means of self-published books; Towards understanding patterns of book consumption in Europe; The future of reading as a cultural behaviour in a multi-channel media environment; Bookselling culture and consumer behaviour; Diversity, or is it all the same? Book consumption on the Internet in Sweden; New voices in the new millennium; Reviving the oral tradition: the evolution of audiobooks; Are you being served? Librarianship past, present and future; Access, convergence and print on demand: The library dimension; New text technologies, globalization and the future of the book; A whiff of tobacco smoke on the page.