TCH News

Issue date: 3/24/08 Section: Student Citations

Rapidly advancing digital technology is redefining how information is received. Numerous industries have felt its impact and the book industry is no exception. While attempts to reinvent how books are packaged, distributed, and even read have met with mixed success, the impact of technology seems certain to grow. Online bookstores offer home access to inventories numbering in the millions. There have also been less successful endeavors, such as e-books. The influence of the internet has inspired authors as successful as Stephen King to try releasing his work directly to his readers, cutting out the middlemen entirely. Despite his difficulties with the experience, a new trail for linking author to reader has unquestionably been opened. As new technologies continue to evolve in the book industry, their continuing power is in real question.

Despite the ever increasing competition for a place in modern society, the book industry's five largest publishing companies still took in more than eight billion dollars in the U.S. in 2003 alone. This is enough to support more than 2000 stores between Barnes and Noble and Borders, the two largest American chains.

For many critics, this is part of the problem. The consolidation of the publishing industry under the umbrella of a handful of companies has emphasized profit at all costs. There is great concern that this will result in safe, mediocre works being favored over superior, but controversial writing. There is also the tendency to favor pushing formulaic authors with slick marketing campaigns over seeking out new talent.

Another problem brought about by new technologies is the competition from television, movies, video games, and the internet. There are simply fewer people who bother to read. Even many who do are leaning towards books with a more sensational feel. Today, a work by Mark Twain has to compete with a dozen different biographies on Anna Nicole Smith, O.J. Simpson, and many other works that are essentially hard-cover tabloids.

For all the problems brought on by new technologies, the new opportunities cannot be ignored. Anyone with internet access can log on and access virtually anything from the works of Nietzsche to Dr. Suess from the comfort of their home. Many online stores also offer reviews of their books, as well as chat sites for feedback on a book direct from the readers. This step towards empowering the consumer cannot be overemphasized. Combined with the new potential of direct contact between writer and reader, encouraging new avenues are opening for both.

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