E-books – Slouching Toward the Future Without Ink on Paper

EL PASO – Words on hard surfaces, from clay to paper, made human history come to life for centuries, but in the 21st century as books are challenged by digital technology, libraries, bookstores – your local Barnes and Noble – are morphing into electronic warehouses.

“Many people prefer to read online, buy online, talk online even study online,” said Edward Nawotka, editor for Publishing Perspectives, a book columnist and southern correspondent for Publishers Weekly. “We are marginalizing books.”

Never before in the history of books has humanity seen such a great variety of books in the same place and at prices that are very cheap in comparison to a local book store, Nawotka told faculty and alumni at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Nawotka, speaking at the annual Carl Hertzog Lecture established 14 years ago at UTEP to honor  the recognized typographer, book designer, publisher and founder of  Texas Western Press.

Robert L. Stakes, the director of UTEP’s library since 2005, explained the concern that UTEP’s library is facing with the introduction of the new technology. “What will happen to our library? We are now spending 54 per cent of our budget on e-books,” said Stakes.

Nawotka, in his lecture entitled Our Digital Future: Challenge to Books, asked the question, “How many people are scared of the future?” Almost everyone in the room raised their hands. He admitted that he too was afraid, specifically for the future of books. For some, books are like an antique. For others, books are not meant to be technology. “But what about publishers, authors and companies like Google or Amazon?” he said.

According to Nawotka, an average American reads one book per year, but in a seeming contradiction that number is rising by 7 per cent each year, probably because readers are going to the Internet instead of books.

The great world in which one could feel great about reading an actual book is coming to an end, he said. Nobody reads as an accomplishment and that is what makes people get books, he said. “Reading is often described as an isolated activity, and it is definitely not,” said Nawotka. But now that e-books are displacing paper, the relationship of people to books will change, not only because people are changing to the Internet, but because the experience of reading from a hard-cover book or exchanging thoughts in what is called “marginalia” (conversations between readers in a book) will soon come to an end, he said.

Nonetheless, there are number of websites that provide the reader with an stimulus and encourage the power of reading either by groups reading the same book and discussing it in forums and blogs from readers across the world.  “Many students complain about the cost of textbooks, but with e-books they can find cheaper deals that will save them time and money,” said Nawotka.

“The roles of authors are changing and publishers are being devalued,” said Nawotka. Companies like Google want to digitalize all worlds’ books but they are not considering the author´s position, he said.

“If all books go e-books, what will replace my little girl at night in my lap while I read her a book.  If all books go e-books, what will authors will get to sign?” concluded Nawotka. stage.