I wish I had some cheeky title about the future of the book and how it's a thing of the past... but I don't.
The Future of the Book
David Finkelstein, An
Introduction to Book History
Finkelstein and McCleery’s “The
Future of the Book” in An Introduction to
Book History is unfortunately outdated and does not provide a contemporary
opinion of how print books are perceived. At first, I thought this chapter
would discuss the differences between print and electronic books and the future
of publishing physical books, but instead it dissected why publishers still
exist and talked about the reading habits of adults.
I
could not find anything about David Finkelstein, which was frustrating given
this book was published 11 years ago. Alistair McCleery is a professor of
Literature and Culture at Edinburgh Napier University. Together they wrote this
book which received mixed reviews, but the majority positive, yet not
overwhelmingly so. The conclusion of this chapter states, “this chapter has not
been about what the future of the book might be… [but] examined the factors
that play a part in shaping and influencing the future.” This would be better
suited at the beginning of the chapter to set readers up to better understand the
authors’ intent.
Finkelstein
and McCleery first look at books through the scope of technological
determinism. They maintain that books
are still the basic tool of education in developing and developed countries,
and that book is not an obsolete medium. Literacy is universal, and even though
it is suggested that new technologies replace and kill the old, the book did
not die out as radio, cinema, TV and internet became available through recent
years. Finkelstein and McCleery discuss the importance of books are promoting
and preserving culture, and the changing online landscape makes it easier for
publishers to provide literature to those who seek it. Media conglomerates
fuelled by the internet craze of the 90s used the new technological interests to
complement and cross-promote existing interest in analog services and products.
Disney is a good example of this: their awareness of the brand allowed them to
increase publishing children’s books based on pre-established concepts like
Mickey Mouse, which fueled interest in movies, theme parks, merchandizing, and
in turn, more published books.
The authors cited several studies regarding the death of
readership. A study from 2004 emphasizes the decline in the number of pleasure
readers. In 1982, 57% of adults indicated they read fiction for pleasure, and
this decreased to 47% in 2002. In the UK in 2000, only 15% of adult readers
claimed to read for pleasure for at least 11 hours a week. Finkelstein and McCreery
denote that the problem with readership is not illiteracy but aliteracy: those who
can read but who will not read books. They found that woman typically read more
and more often than men, and that children who are encouraged to read in their
home environment and have at least one parent who is also an enthusiastic
reader tend to grow up reading extensively. The main issue with adults and the
decrease in readership is the increase in other leisure activities.
In conclusion, they state that books will continue to fulfill
needs although their functions will be more severely restricted to leisure. Readers
of books have decreased in number, but reading still encourages the passionate
habit, and finally that the State may need to intervene increasingly to promote
and protect the reading of books as it does for other activities considered as positive
assets within civil society.
Readership and interest in books (print or electronic) is a
heavily debated topic. Many argue that readership is declining, yet others
state that readership is steady or even increasing, and that our definition of
literacy is the main thing that has changed.
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