The Digital Revolution is Not About to Close the Book on Print
With the advent of the iPad, we have yet taken another significant step forward in the world of digital publishing, media, reading, interaction with content, etc. Some are, as usual, hailing this as yet a closer move toward the day when print is dead. No more paper. No more books. No more teacher’s dirty looks. Oh, wait, I’m getting sidetracked….
The point is that at each step of the way along the path of the new emerging technologies in publishing, we are told that print will soon be dead, but it isn’t. We have more printed materials being pumped out than ever before. Here’s an interesting article that gives some perspective, and here’s a snippet:
The iPad will not destroy print. But it will create innovative models like, for example, works that mix text and audio-visual content, creating a different and exciting product. Revolutions are full of contradictions. It took printed books in the Gutenberg revolution many years to replace handwritten ones. If history is any guide, print media and books are likely to coexist with digital newspapers, magazines and books for some time. New models will emerge with the experimentation. Publishers and advertisers are entering uncharted waters.
As a bibliophile, I love the physical aspect of books, the paper, the smell, the ink and all. It would be a very sad day to have the old-fashioned non-electrical dependent media disappear completely, especially for Bibles.
Sometimes it’s quicker to get to a certain page than to get to it electronically. The iPad is intriguing, yes, but as an versatile complement that adds to and is a partner to print.
If I was going through seminary now, I wouldn’t buy any print versions of reference books or commentaries. They are too heavy and a pain to store, move, or even carry between home and church. Computer programs such as Logos are ideal for this purpose.
Right now I’m reading Forde’s “On Being a Theologian of the Cross” on my iPad (Kindle app). It’s wonderful to be able to highlight it, take notes, and have all that sync with my iPhone to read a bit while waiting in line at the store, etc.
But there is something very different about the Bible in certain contexts, no? I could never pull out an electronic device while, say, visiting someone in the hospital. I misplaced my personal hymnal at church this week, and was very distressed until it was found. There’s amazing comfort in holding my very own LSB when heading into Divine Service. That book is my dear, dear friend.