Yes, books are on the decline, but in order to keep this trend in
perspective it is important to not confuse the medium with the
message. The issue is not necessarily about books as much as it is
about the stuff inside the books.
Books -- codexes -- are a particular type of technology. Print words
and pictures on leaves of paper. Number the pages. Add an outline of
the book's contents -- a table of contents. Make the book somewhat
searchable by adding an index. Wrap the whole thing between a couple
of boards. The result is a thing that is portable, durable, long-
lasting, and relatively free-standing as well as independent of other
technology. But all of this is really a transport medium, a container
for the content.
Consider the content of books. Upon close examination it is a recorded
manifestation of humanity. Books -- just like the Web -- are a
reflection of humankind because just anything you can think of can be
manifested in printed form. Birth. Growth. Love. Marriage. Aging.
Death. Poetry. Prose. Mathematics. Astronomy. Business. Instructions.
Facts. Directories. Gardening. Theses and dissertations. News. White
papers. Plans. History. Descriptions. Dreams. Weather. Stock quotes.
The price of gold. Things for sale. Stories both real and fictional.
Etc. Etc. Etc.
Consider the length of time humankind has been recording things in
written form. Maybe five thousand years. What were the mediums used?
Stone and clay tablets? Papyrus scrolls. Vellum. Paper. To what extent
did people bemoan the death of clay tablets? To what extent did they
bemoan the movement from scrolls to codexes? Probably the cultures who
valued verbal traditions as opposed to written traditions (think of
the American Indians) had more to complain about than the migration
from one written from to another. The medium is not as important as
the message.
Different types of content lend themselves to different mediums. Music
can be communicated via the written score, but music is really
intended to be experienced through hearing. Sculpture is, by
definition, a three-dimensional medium, yet we take photographs of it,
a two-dimensional medium. The poetry and prose lend themselves very
well to the written word, but they can be seen as forms of
storytelling, and while there are many advantages to stories being
written down, there are disadvantages as well. No sound effects. Where
to put the emphasis on phrases? Hand gestures to communicate subtle
distinctions are lost. It is for all of these reasons that libraries
(and museums and archives) also collect the mediums that better
represent this content. Paintings. Sound recordings. Artifacts. CDs
and DVDs.
The containers of information will continue to change, but I assert
that the content will not. The content will continue to be a
reflection of humankind. It will represent all of the things that it
means to be men, woman, and children. It will continue to be an
exposition of our collective thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and
experiences.
Libraries and other "cultural heritage institutions" do not have and
never did have a monopoly on recorded content, but now, more than
ever, and as we have moved away from an industrial-based economy to a
more service-based economy whose communication channels are electronic
and global, the delivery of recorded content, in whatever form, is
more profitable. Consequently there is more competition. Libraries
need to get a grip on what they are all about. If it is about the
medium -- books, CDs, articles -- then the future is grim. If it is
about content and making that content useful to their clientele, then
the opportunities are wide open. Shifting a person's focus from the
how to the what is challenging. Looking at the forest from the trees
is sometimes overwhelming. Anybody can get information these days. We
are still drinking from the proverbial fire hose. The problem to be
solved is less about discovery and more about use. It is about placing
content in context. Providing a means to understanding it,
manipulating it, and using it to solve the problems revolving around
what it means to be human.
We are a set of educated people. If we put our collective minds to the
problem, then I sincerely believe libraries can and will remain
relevant. In fact, that is why I instituted this mailing list.
--
Eric "Musings For A Friday" Morgan
University Libraries of Notre Dame
Received on Fri May 08 2009 - 09:31:52 EDT