Issue Date: 11/16/09
Digital Ink: From paper to the screen
By Camilo Barrero
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This year from Oct. 14 to Oct. 18 in Frankfurt, Germany the Frankfurt Book Fair took place. The focus was on the new technologies used to publish and distribute books. The feared transformation is coming to an end, and the Internet is becoming one of the most important tools for marketing and publishing.
As proposed by the official Web site of the fair, business models have to be adjusted to meet changing market and customer needs, an idea that the Internet company Google has been forging for the past two years where they have scanned nearly 10 million books trough alliances with publishers worldwide and make available to read online.
Companies such as Forrester Research estimate that 3 million electronic readers will be sold in the United States this year and double that number next year.
College students are already been part of that number. The number of academic textbooks that can be acquired in a downloadable format is increasing and there are many portable reading devices the Kindle from Amazon.com and the Reader from Sony on which to play the books.
"I think it's necessary; it's kind of hard to get used to reading on a screen but eventually it's the way we will get all our books and newspapers. Technology will figure out how to make a smooth switch," said Nick Lund, a design student at Palomar College.
The idea that readers should have access to books on their digital devices in the same way they get their music, news and photos has accelerated this transition and things like portability, price and time have taken precedence in conversation on the topic.
Reading books online or on digital devices seems to be gaining followers every day.
Some studies show the sales for e-books are 63 percent in contrast to the 37 percent for print, according to a last year's research.
The service offered by Google has different options to preview, rate and also buy books, but the site is still trying to compile more titles and to win a lawsuit filed by U.S publishers. If it wins, the Internet giant would have the rights to upload titles with fewer restrictions, helping new authors and publishers as well as permitting access to books out of print.
As the technology comes and the accessibility is greater we will see less printed books and more electronic gadgets aiming to bring us material in an innovative way.
The future of the book trade is still uncertain. Its survival depends on the readers.
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