Books prove resilient to technology
Overa decade ago, some pundits made the prediction that books would eventually disappear. Now it seems that books are not on the extinction list, ready for the “guillotine” of the disruptive technology of the digital media and the internet of things.
Pedagogues and universities and schools in their traditional existences would be challenged by on-line education, they said. Factory workers would be replaced by “artificial intelligence”.
Reckless chauffeurs would become a thing of the past as Google developed its self-driving cars. Recently, Zume pizza in California used robots to make pizzas. And tech evangelists are promoting drones as a new form of delivery (drug dealers are no doubt in a flap!)
Needless to say, the print media is becoming obsolete as advertisers prefer online platforms where their ads can blink and flicker on the screen — at least they can measure responses from “clicks” and “likes”, even if they cannot probe the identities of the respondents.
Yet, technology, no matter how advanced and futuristic it is, cannot escape the law of uncertainty.
The world has its own way of surprising the pundits — the rise of nationalism in liberal western democracies, terrorism, plagues or economic crises. Surprises can happen to consumption and innovation too. In this respect, the self-reinvention of books is a case in point, providing a twist to the tale.
In 2006, the book industry fear its days were numbered. A column in The Guardian newspaper by Jeff Jarvis, journalism professor at City University of New York, said that “book will disappear and print is where words go to die”. A decade later, and sales of physical books have rebounded in the UK, at a 4% increment, while e-book sales have declined at the same rate.
After an impressive start, sales of electronic readers have turned bearish. Interestingly, Jeff Bezos — the owner of Amazon that produces the Kindle — plans to open bookshops in New York City, something unimaginable just a few short years prior when bookshops were closing down as readers became seduced by reading gadgetry.
As for this country, I think our book industry does quite well in its efforts to boost sales and attract people to physical publications. The Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand (PUBAT) has been organ is in gt he increasingly-popular annual national book fair for 45 years.
I talked to Charun Homtientong, secretary-general of PUBAT, about the e-book effect on the local book industry. Mr Charan was actually more at pains to complain about the control enjoyed by a few established publishers and their distribution systems on small publishers and bookshops. He also said the e-book industry was not hurting the physical book business.
Notwithstanding his concerns, PUBAT’s book fair was a crowded event, proving quite emphatically that reading was not the neglected activity we believe it to be. The organiser expects 1.7 million people to attend the 45th National Book fair which runs until April 9 at the Queen Sirikit National Conference Center.
This year, Finland — which has one of highest reading rates per capita — will show how it promotes the reading habit. There will also be an exhibition about cremation books —a genre of book that exists only in Thailand.
I think our local book industry deserves a big round of applause. Without state subsidy, publishers have had to struggle, but they are reinventing the industry. For example, some small bookstore owners have repositioned their businesses as a bookstore-cum-cultural space with events such as book launches, debates or cultural activities, or even as a bookshop-cum-coffee bar where people can come and relax.
Many libraries are trying to stay relevant in the digital age as well. For example, Neilson Hays — the famed near century-old private library — is reinventing itself as a cultural and public space with activities such as book competitions, musical events and exhibitions where people can enjoy their leisure time as much as going there to read.
Last but not least, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is opening a 24-hour library on Ratchadamnoen Road next month.
I am not, by the way, anti-technology. In fact I have just purchased my second Kindle and I am buying select paper books for a nice cover design collection.
Freedom of choice is more than just adopting the latest trends and forsaking an old one simply because we are told it is old and dispensable.
Anchalee Kongrut writes about development issues for the Bangkok Post.