Print vs. Technology

With the collapse of several newspapers and print publications like USA Today International Edition, New York Sun, South Idaho Press, Christian Science Monitor, and Detroit Free Press, publishers are fearful of being shut down.

Most of this fear stems from the movement of print going online and the evolution of technology changing the industry.

Books can now be read on a kindle. Your news can be read online. I must admit I frequent www.cnn.com and www.msnbc.com, as well as turn to television to get my news fix.

Others argue that it is not the same and there is something to be said about having a physical book or paper to hold and read.

However, as a writer when asked if I would prefer to have my book published online or in print, I opted for print.

I feel that a tangible book that contains your work and your by line makes the success of being published feel concreted. Also, for a writer being published is the ultimate arrival.

Not everyone gets there, so there is an immense pride when you do. Print publications have always been competitive in this sense.

Unfortunately, online publications do not have the same reputation and the same level of competition as print publications. While online might be great for being accessible and reaching the masses; however, this is also a fault in that the quality of work published online is not monitored or questioned.

Anyone can publish, especially when it comes to self-publication. It is free to sign up for a blog and it’s a minimal cost to create your own website.

The New York Times has a great article about libraries moving into the digital age. In hopes to keep libraries from becoming obsolete, this institution is now offering the ability to download e-books.

The patron uses his library card in order to download a book to his laptop. About 5,400 public libraries nationwide offer this service for free.

The article also brings up the opposition felt by publishers. Although having only e-books would create a multitude of issues for publishers in regards to sales and creating subsequent , publishers are finding themselves having to quickly adapt.

In my own experience at textbook publishing companies, increase in demand for technological resources has added a competitive edge within the industry.

My company invested more money than they made to develop a technological platform specific to their textbooks and company. This investment paid off as many professors prefer to buy math textbooks that come with media options, such as MyMathLab.

MyMathLab is a platform that allows for e-books, supplements online, grade books for the professors, and additional practice through test generators.

Ideas are being brought up of having college lectures related to the textbooks as podcasts. In secondary school, publishers are developing better quality online games that reinforce concepts learned in the textbooks.

I am not sure if textbooks will ever become so archaic that they will be completely replaced by technology. Before I mentioned how I am an offender, by finding my news online and on television.

However, when it comes to textbooks, I would rather have the actual book in my hands. I tend to highlight and write notes in the margin, which enhance my learning. There is no online substitute for my education.