Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking. Login or Take a Tour!
Lu · 4638 days ago · link · · parent · post: After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Presses
I suppose time is running out for the dictionary too....what will the classroom shelves of the future look like?
That will be an unfortunate, but perhaps unavoidable, day. On occasions when I consult my MW, I almost always find another word that I didn't previously know. Its not something that happens when you just consult a database. As an aside, I fear for the libraries of the future, as well. I'm a staunch defender of the book as a thing, not just a conduit for information, for many reasons, from the practical (used book markets won't exist with eBooks) to the esoteric (I come from a bookbinding family, and well, there's no craft in eBooks). Its painful to me to see Kindles take over.
–
Indeed they will! I am a big supporter of the book not only for its content but also for its value as an object, but I think it is interesting to speculate on the evolution of print, books, libraries etc. These things are no doubt changing for better or for worse. I wonder how the characteristics of books and libraries will translate in digital form. Books have a kind of palimpsest, or residue of use that tells a story about its life. Dog eared pages, coffee stains, names written behind the cover etc. Just as books as objects can be passed down, borrowed, and given as a gift. I remember receiving a set of encyclopedia from my Grandfather for a birthday present as a child, and there was something impressive and compelling to me about the literal weight of the books and how that related to the gravity of its content.
How will digital media make room for these kinds of real physical expressions of use, how will they wear?
–
thenewgreen · 4637 days ago · link ·
- How will digital media make room for these kinds of real physical expressions of use, how will they wear?