The Fate of the Publishing Industry

Is print on the way out?

While taking courses centred entirely around literature it has become natural to wonder if literature will continue to develop in the printed form. There has been an exponential growth in electronic texts in recent years. Websites like Project Gutenberg have created a vast database of old texts that are past copyright. This collection is free for all to access and of a good quality. New texts are also becoming increasingly electronic and are offered at a low price for readers. With this new, open and cheap system it really seems like print has become outdated.

But price and availability are not the only factors we should take into consideration. There are many advantages to the printed form. Many people prefer the tactile pleasure of holding a book while reading. In addition to this, books have always been passed around and traded in their physical form and this is cheapened if someone can just download the same text. Finally, the tradition of publication is in danger and its historical significance should not simply be brushed aside for modern convenience.

However, electronic media do have one distinct advantage over print. In the same way that the Internet has wrested much power away from music record companies, the electronic text movement will create more freedom within literature. Publishing houses can no longer demand exacting themes or issues or manipulate readers into buying what they publish. Through electronic texts and blogging, every person who types can become a writer and gain an audience. Of course, this means that in generations to come a 'canon' of literature may not exist and the overall quality of literature will be questioned. But we should not limit the amount of literature out there to prevent this, we should just become better readers.

The publishing industry has its place and we should embrace it and we must also embrace the freedom offered by the electronic alternative.

-The English Student

Book Megalomania

Once again, my list of ideal jobs has grown longer with the addition of Book Megalomaniac.

A book megalomaniac is a person who spends a huge amount of time, money and energy in the acquisition of rare works of literature. They concentrate on amassing a collection of the oldest, most valuable books in existence and have been known to spend millions on individual works. Surely there can be few greater jobs than the preservation of our literary masterpieces.

Indeed, the benefits of such book megalomaniacs are manifest when one views their collections. These books are preserved immaculately, with the highest level of security implemented. Beyond this safety, an appropriate level of reverence is paid to these works and the collections have the air of sacred temples devoted to past gods of literature.

But this heightened security and formality greatly limits the appreciation of these works to a small minority of the public. The vast collections are often not advertised and catalogues for their entire works are rare, if they exist at all. This security removes the literature from their original intention – to be read and enjoyed. But this complaint seems ridiculous when compared with the potential loss of our literary heritage to theft or depreciation. I only wish that more than a tiny percentage of these collections be shown, while the rest is protected as it should be.

The only thing I could fathom spending huge amounts of money on is literature – hopefully I will have that opportunity at some point in my life!

-The English Student