Will Printed Books Eventually Die?

Rubén Gómez · **Posted:** Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:28 am

In a thought-provoking blog post, Michael Hyatt, President and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, anticipates the death of traditional books as we know them. His opinion is based on one key word: efficiency.

According to Hyatt, "The book manufacturing process is inefficient... The book distribution process is inefficient... The book buying experience is inefficient". (But do read the whole piece).

Then, on the other hand, a Bible software company like BibleWorks warns its users by saying:

Quote:

We continue to encourage our users to think carefully before building large electronic libraries, for two reasons.

1. There is no guarantee computers will, in as few as ten years, be able to read today's electronic media. For example, read "At Libraries, Taking the (Really) Long View" from Inside Higher Ed, July 23, 2008 and "The Digital Ice Age" from Popular Mechanics, December 2006.

2. Even more significantly, almost all electronic libraries are in proprietary formats: there is no standard. Proprietary formats, and the software that reads them, come and go (remember DOS?). A recent article in Christian Computing, "Is It Time for a Second STEP?", noted the unlikelihood of a standard format emerging. When an electronic library's proprietary format is abandoned, one's investment in the library is lost.

Books, on the other hand, are independent of computers. If you use certain reference works on a daily basis, it may make sense to purchase electronic editions, and, for this reason, we are providing (and will continue to provide) a limited collection of locked electronic resources for those who want them. But in our opinion it makes sense to buy print editions first, then electronic editions if you find you really need them.

So, what are we to make of all this? Will printed books really pass away? Is it wise to make a large investment in electronic books, particularly in the light of the current lack of real standards and the presence of so many competing proprietary formats? What do you think?

jfidel · **Posted:** Thu Sep 04, 2008 10:01 am

I have not lost an e book and have been using bible software for over 10 years. I have always stayed with the major bible software providers and they continually update their software and related books. I like the fact that Logos does this for free and will soon be doing it across the two main platforms.

While I respect BW's position, I do not agree with it. I love having commentaries and other theological resources at my fingertips on my laptop.

John Fidel

Dave Hooton · **Joined:** Mon Oct 27, 2008 10:18 pm **Posts:** 7

The history of STEP is not unusual because the problems it faced were essentially unresolvable given the uncoordinated evolution (proprietary nature?) of portable hardware storage formats which restricted any common software data standard even if the vision and will existed amongst bible software companies. I think that proprietary formats are an advantage as they promote competition and provide user's with a choice. The strongest will survive and continue to provide an essential advantage over print editions! From a different perspective, I welcome the demise of HD DVD and the emergence of Blu-ray because it's one less piece of hardware to consider even if I'm not sure the best video format comes with it!

I doubt that printed books will die in the near future because publishers still have a profitable marketplace. A common software data standard is not even an issue, because they will pursue the most profitable course for licencing. Users don't lose significantly even if a publisher also markets their own bible software. Dig deep, its only money ... get Libronix and BW and Pradis - speed and function with 10 000 resources. Try storing 10 000 books around your home.

Rubén Gómez · **Posted:** Tue Oct 28, 2008 2:36 pm

Bob Pritchett has posted an entry that, while not addressing specifically the issue of whether or not printed books will eventually die, focuses on the worries some people have when it comes to investing in electronic books.

Dave Hooton · **Joined:** Mon Oct 27, 2008 10:18 pm **Posts:** 7

I tend to agree with Bob's opinion, but it should be noted that not all resources are converted when there is a format change (the reasons are outside the scope of this discussion). However, the current Libronix software supports the superseded Logos format to an acceptable degree. Some converted resources could only be found with the assistance of the Logos user community! There is a re-assuring parallel to print resources that are "out of print", but you can readily reproduce a digital resource once it is found!

Cleopatra is quoted as saying "when last seen the ships were in the water" when reviling Julius Caesar about the accidental burning of the great library in Alexandria.

karl · **Posted:** Wed Oct 29, 2008 3:41 pm

I think the point about the book's content -vs- the book's digital format is a good one. At the Sword Project, development is proceeding on a new design for how to verse-encode Bibles with the specific goal of being able to support arbitrary versification schemes. (Currently, only KJV versification is supported, which leaves out a whole lot of other alternatives, not least of which is Catholic Bibles including deuterocanoicals.) Once the basic work is done, it will be possible and reasonable to re-encode all Bible and commentary modules using the new format. There is no information loss; the encoded content will not have changed, of course. Any software system needs to be prepared to move forward like this based on technological improvement or just better-thought-out designs for how to manage the content to be provided.

Dave Hooton · **Joined:** Mon Oct 27, 2008 10:18 pm **Posts:** 7

Karl wrote:

Quote:

There is no information loss; the encoded content will not have changed, of course

But will the software be backward compatible (read the old format)?

karl · **Posted:** Mon Nov 03, 2008 4:47 pm

Quote:

But will the software be backward compatible (read the old format)?

Of course.

Dave Hooton · **Joined:** Mon Oct 27, 2008 10:18 pm **Posts:** 7

Excellent!

Will Printed Books Eventually Die?

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