Soon to Be Empty Bookshelves

There is no stopping the digital revolution. iTunes has made the CD irrelevant and the internet has given us up-to-the-minute news that makes buying a newspaper seem like an anachronism. But books? Digital can't take my precious books too! Who doesn't like to curl up with a good book, flip through its pages, and see book covers on your shelves? As someone who loves to read and has spent time and money acquiring books, I'm finding the impending e-book revolution a little hard to swallow. Will it really happen? Will consumers like reading their favorite novels on a screen? Most importantly, will I ever get used to it... or even start to like it?

What makes the transition to digital reading inevitable is simply that we have been through this process before with the iPod, and we all know how that one turned out. When the iPod debuted it was imperfect, clunky, and expensive. As Apple worked out the kinks and the prices went down, consumers began to abandon their portable CD players and invest in the convenient MP3 player. Right now digital readers are going through a similar stage in their development. Amazon's Kindle is currently $299, there are few readers available that offer color screens, and there are a variety of format issues. But as our iPod example suggests, as soon as the price comes down on an easy to use digital reader, people will begin to buy it.

And why shouldn't they? Consumers are no longer willing to pay more in order to have physical copies of their favorite entertainment. This trend towards convenience over all else (while not for everyone) is not only less expensive and convenient, but better for the environment as well. There will probably always be consumers like me who favor CD box sets and vinyl over MP3s and oversized hardcovers of our favorite books over a digital copy. But in the next couple of years the majority of consumers (er, the ones that read anyway) will have made the switch over to e-books. Perhaps the switch and the convenience of it all will even encourage a return to reading! One of the most encouraging aspects of the e-book revolution that I have read about, has been regarding how library users will be able to use their reader to access a digital library. Being able to access the NYPL at any time of day? Only truly great things can come of that.

It might not be the year of our Ford 632, but it sure feels like the future. I have to wonder though, what will we put on our shelves when all of our CDs, DVDs, and books are gone?