The demise of the book and the future of reading

Brief study on recurrent fears of information overload and the future of the book in the digital era. Presented at Arsenal Book Festival in Kyiv, 2018.

Transcript

2. The Demise of the Book and the Future of Reading Karol Piekarski, Medialab Katowice , 31.05.2018 Київ
6. The Book is dead
7. The Book is dead?
10. The Book is dead?
11. The Book is dead, long live the Book!
12. Information overload
15. Main arguments → brain rewiring → lost focus → inability to read long texts
16. ” Once one read; today one refers to, checks through, skims.
17. ” Once one read; today one refers to, checks through, skims. Vita brevis ars longa.
18. ” Once one read; today one refers to, checks through, skims. Vita brevis ars longa. There is too much to read; the times are wrong; the trend is no longer slavishly to follow the author (…).
19. ” Once one read; today one refers to, checks through, skims. Vita brevis ars longa. There is too much to read; the times are wrong; the trend is no longer slavishly to follow the author (…). Paul Otlet, 1903
21. ” [Printers] fill the world with pamphlets and books [that are] foolish, ignorant, malignant, libelous, mad, impious and subversive; the original works fall away. Erasmus
22. ” [Printers] fill the world with pamphlets and books [that are] foolish, ignorant, malignant, libelous, mad, impious and subversive; and such is the flood that even things that might have done some good lose all their goodness. the original works fall away. Erasmus
24. ” (…) of that confused forest of books ey have nothing to write and, thus, produce abstracts, vocabularies, esprits, encyclopedias —the original works fall away. John Calvin
26. ” (…) silliness of useless writing in our time [and] harmful and confusing abundance of books. ey have nothing to write and, thus, produce abstracts, vocabularies, esprits, encyclopedias —the original works fall away. Conrad Gesner
27. Main sources of information explosion in the Renaissance → discovery of new worlds → recovery of ancient texts → proliferation of printed books
28. Copy-and-paste culture → reference books → notebooks → clipping services
29. –– ✁
30. –– –––––––– ✁ ✁
31. –– –––––––– –––– ✁ ✁ ✁
33. ” Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested; original works fall Francis Bacon
34. ” Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; original works fall Francis Bacon
35. ” Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.original works fall Francis Bacon
37. ” Now encyclopedias are being made, even Diderot and D’Alembert have lowered themselves to this. ey have nothing to write and, thus, produce abstracts, vocabularies, esprits, encyclopedias—the original works fall away. Johann Gottfried Herder
38. ” Now encyclopedias are being made, even Diderot and D’Alembert have lowered themselves to this. And that book that is a triumph for the French is for us the first sign of their decline. They have nothing to write and, thus, produce abstracts, vocabularies, esprits, encyclopedias—the original works fall away. Johann Gottfried Herder
39. ” Now encyclopedias are being made, even Diderot and D’Alembert have lowered themselves to this. And that book that is a triumph for the French is for us the first sign of their decline. They have nothing to write and, thus, produce abstracts, vocabularies, esprits, encyclopedias—the original works fall away. Johann Gottfried Herder
40. Content managment → storing → sorting → selecting → summarising
42. False presumptions → we have always read in the same (focused) way
43. False presumptions → we have always read in the same (focused) way → the book hasn’t changed since it’s beginning
44. False presumptions → we have always read in the same (focused) way → the book hasn’t changed since it’s beginning → culture and knowledge cannot exist without printed books
45. Strategies to reduce overload
46. Strategies to reduce overload → algorithms (data processing, artificial intelligence)
47. Strategies to reduce overload → algorithms (data processing, artificial intelligence) → collective intelligence (feedback from users)
48. Strategies to reduce overload → interconectivity → folksonomy & bottom-up knowledge → big data → data visualisation → personalisation → curating (curated web)
49. Strategies to reduce overload → ambient perception → switching between different modes of perception → being aware of the background → focusing on particular problems
50. Storytelling
53. Storytelling
54. Scrollytelling
55. Scrollytelling
56. Data visualisation & data-driven stories
58. Database as a cultural form
60. Database vs. narrative
61. ” Database and narrative are natural enemies. ginal works fall away. Lev Manovich, The Language of New Media
62. ” Database and narrative are natural enemies. Competing for the same territory of human culture, each claims an exclusive right to make meaning out of the world. ginal works fall away. Lev Manovich, The Language of New Media
63. Design challenges → complex visualisation: exploration vs. explanation
65. Design challenges → complex visualisation: exploration vs. explanation → visualisations show too much
66. Design challenges → complex visualisation: exploration vs. explanation → visualisations show too much → users don’t interact
67. Design challenges → complex visualisation: exploration vs. explanation → visualisations show too much → users don’t interact: NYT readers only interact with about 10% to 15% of graphics
68. Design challenges → complex visualisation: exploration vs. explanation
69. Design challenges → complex visualisation: exploration vs. explanation → engagement
71. Design challenges → complex visualisation: exploration vs. explanation → engagement → users want to make sense of the world
72. New competencies → visual culture / picture culture
73. New competencies → visual culture / picture culture → secondary orality
74. New competencies → visual culture / picture culture → secondary orality → different senses / media
75. New competencies → visual culture / picture culture → secondary orality → different senses / media → digital / media literacies
76. Do we read less online?
77. Wykres od Waldka
78. Meritocratic environment
79. Meritocratic environment → the more you know, the more you can get
80. Meritocratic environment → the more you know, the more you can get → combination of traditional and digital skills
81. Future scenarios
82. Book as hypertext?
83. Book as hypertext? → failed experiments with multimedia format
84. Book as hypertext? → failed experiments with multimedia format → electronic literature has yet to reach mainstream audience
86. Non-paper books penetration → e-books – 7% → audiobooks – 7% % of Polish population in 2017
87. Non-paper books penetration → e-books have just ~5% of book market in Poland
88. Reading becomes public → reading practices exposed / measured / analysed
89. Reading becomes public → e-readers
90. Reading becomes public → e-readers → online bookstores & recommendation services
91. Reading becomes public → e-readers → online bookstores & recommendation services → new opportunities to reach audience
92. New curators (curated web)
93. New curators (curated web) → way to cope with information overload
94. New curators (curated web) → way to cope with information overload → old-fashioned recommendations
95. New curators (curated web) → way to cope with information overload → old-fashioned recommendations → personal trust
96. Book as an artwork → art, design, architecture → photo albums → suvenire books
97. Fragmentation
98. Fragmentation → short run publishing
99. Fragmentation → short run publishing → self-publishing
100. Fragmentation → short run publishing → self-publishing → less income, more titles
101. Fragmentation → short run publishing → self-publishing → less income, more titles → less fiction, more professional books
102. Fragmentation → short run publishing → self-publishing → less income, more titles → less fiction, more professional books → specialized bookstores
104. Book as a lifestyle
105. Book as a lifestyle → small, specialized bookshops
106. Book as a lifestyle → small, specialized bookshops → book cafes
108. Book as a lifestyle → small, specialized bookshops → book cafes → libraries → cultural centres
112. Book as a lifestyle → small, specialized bookshops → book cafes → libraries → cultural centres → book fairs → cultural festivals
113. Book as a lifestyle → small, specialized bookshops → book cafes → libraries → cultural centres → book fairs → cultural festivals → slow reading
114. Book as a stratification mechanism
115. Book as a stratification mechanism → ~90% of cultural audience in Katowice has higher education
116. Book as a stratification mechanism → ~90% of cultural audience has higher education → just 38% of Poles read at least 1 book a year
117. Book as a stratification mechanism → factors support reading: – education level – 0,14
118. Book as a stratification mechanism → factors support reading: – education level – 0,14 – family upbringing / environment – 0,38
119. Book as a stratification mechanism → factors support reading: – education level – 0,14 – family upbringing / environment – 0,38 – environment (friends, school, work etc.) – 0,44
120. спасибі karol.piekarski@medialabkatowice.eu