The Me-Book

A friend of mine collected the letters of her father and produced a book for her nieces and nephews to better know their grandfather. The run was 30 copies but each copy is treasured. The last book I bought from Amazon was a printed version of an 1882 book on engraving. The original of that book was in a library in Scotland. Now I have a copy. It may be that the future of libraries is providing access, to data via computers, but also to print on demand services.

Ebooks get all the attention nowadays, but the Me book market will continue to grow and it will shadow the traditional book market. It is a one-at-a-time market that will add up to big numbers.

Frank Romano is RIT Professor Emeritus with over 50 years in book technology and publishing.