Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
and thinner than the typical paperback and provide mobile access to
books, newspapers and journals. By using the keyboard of some of the
more sophisticated e-book readers, users can add annotations to text,
just as they might write in the margins of a book. And because it is
digital, they can edit, delete and export their notes, highlight key
passages and bookmark pages for future use.
Arguably, there will still be a market for illustrated books, the topics
we want as artefacts, but perhaps the paperback novel will go the way
of vinyl record. Enthusiasts will use printed books, but the general
public will prefer the convenience and portability of the e-book. They
will be able to download titles from Amazon and other internet
booksellers, just as they now download music to their iPods. Consumers
will no longer have to think about how many books they can
conveniently fit in their briefcases or suitcases; they will be able to carry
a small library on a handy portable device when travelling.
Stephen Moss interviewed a number of independent booksellers for a
report published in the
Guardian
newspaper in 2006 (Moss, 2006).
Almost all of the booksellers interviewed recognized that if they were to
have a sustainable future they could not just rely on selling books. One
interviewee said: 'We're not just a bookshop. We're an information
centre and a hub of activity.' An urban bookseller said: 'The moment I
saw this shop and the market, I knew it was better than Brick Lane [in
London] for a bookshop because it's a community street', and a rural
bookseller said: 'People also realise the social importance of having a
bookshop in a small town. It does more than sell books.' Wherever they
are situated, these booksellers see that their future lies in becoming a
part of the community, and offering services as well as selling books.
Services may include the obvious, such as a coffee shop and book
readings, but bookshops may also become centres for specialist
information and training. They may also become providers of print on
demand facilities.
Time
magazine called the Espresso Book Machine
(described earlier in this chapter) the 'Invention of the Year' (Flood,
2009). Publishers and booksellers alike see the huge potential of a
machine that collapses the supply chain, increases backlist sales, and
matches supply with demand.
