The Battle to Define the Future of the Book in the Digital World

Readers are legitimately confused as they try to understand the future of the book in the digital world. They somehow know that the inexorable advance of technology will likely eventually render the printed book obsolete, at least for many of the uses that it sees today. Indeed, the elimination or suppression of the book (often as a shorthand for ideas or history) has been a staple of science fiction for decades, and even fundamentally apolitical films such as the early Star Trek movies incidentally celebrate printed books as charmingly archaic collector's items. These portrayals have been absorbed into the public consciousness, leading to a sense that technology inevitably will supercede the printed work.