As the ecological footprint of countries and individuals continue to grow, we can only expect very little improvement in handling paper waste. Thus, a debate on the future of books brings to the fore, two critical standpoints. On one end is technology, and on the other, researchers who think that as time progresses, paper, in spite of its diminishing value, will remain relevant and precious to our reading culture.
However, if you weigh into the speed at which technology is changing our world, prospecting that print copy is here to stay even in the age of artificial intelligence is something that any futuristic individual would dismiss with the contempt it deserves.
This post explores the future of books in the life of a student, and here are some important questions you should ask before you proceed further:
- Are electronic copies replacing print?
- Can we confidently prospect that in the next 100 years; books will be bygones in the education sphere?
- If books will be no more sooner than we can predict, how will students read for exams and write essays?
- Are EBooks replacing paperbacks?
- Should books cease to exist; will students need physical libraries as study places in their respective learning institutions or digital/e-libraries would be more convenient anytime, anywhere?
The truth is that exploring the future of books would be incomplete without reviewing the ecological impacts of paper on our planet. Thus, in answering the above questions, this post will also help you take a deeper dive into electronic print and how it is shaping up in readiness for a future that we are already experiencing.
Electronic vs. Print: Now and in the future
A walk down the memory lane reveals interesting and real hard facts about books and writing. At the onset, not much was said of 19th or 20th Century publishing industry, albeit, the future always looked promising. Today, parchments, scrolls, stone and clay tablets are only regarded as valuable historical artifacts that remind us of how far we have come, and how the future of reading and paper writing is shaping up right before our eyes.
Electronic mail, despite being a game-changer in publishing, many thought would drive the last nail onto the culture of hard copies. But, for decades now, since the advent of emails, postal services still exist. It, therefore, means that in as much as technology is changing the way people send and receive messages, posting letters and books to doorstep addresses is still here to stay, but only in the foreseeable future.
When it comes to doing assignments at school, including hiring help online from a dependable and reputed write paper for me, electronic copies are more popular than print ones. Upon completing assignments, students submit soft copies which teachers can choose to read using word processors like Microsoft or print them out. However, archiving tools brought about by technology such as cloud storage means that the value we have all along pegged on physical libraries is beginning to diminish in the face of these cutting-edge developments.
