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The Demise of the Book
and the Future of Reading
Karol Piekarski, Medialab Katowice
, 31.05.2018
Київ
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The Book is dead
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The Book is dead?
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The Book is dead?
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The Book is dead, long live the Book!
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Information overload
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Main arguments
→ brain rewiring
→ lost focus
→ inability to read long texts
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”
Once one read; today one refers to, checks
through, skims.
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”
Once one read; today one refers to, checks
through, skims. Vita brevis ars longa.
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”
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 (…).
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”
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
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”
[Printers] fill the world with pamphlets and
books [that are] foolish, ignorant, malignant,
libelous, mad, impious and subversive;
the original works fall away.
Erasmus
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”
[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
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”
(…) 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
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”
(…) 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
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Main sources of information explosion
in the Renaissance
→ discovery of new worlds
→ recovery of ancient texts
→ proliferation of printed books
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Copy-and-paste culture
→ reference books
→ notebooks
→ clipping services
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–– ✁
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–– ––––––––
✁ ✁
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–– –––––––– ––––
✁ ✁ ✁
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”
Some books are to be tasted, others to be
swallowed and some few to be chewed and
digested;
original works fall
Francis Bacon
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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
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”
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
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”
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
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”
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
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”
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
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Content managment
→ storing
→ sorting
→ selecting
→ summarising
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False presumptions
→ we have always read in the same (focused) way
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False presumptions
→ we have always read in the same (focused) way
→ the book hasn’t changed since it’s beginning
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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
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Strategies to reduce overload
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Strategies to reduce overload
→ algorithms (data processing, artificial intelligence)
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Strategies to reduce overload
→ algorithms (data processing, artificial intelligence)
→ collective intelligence (feedback from users)
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Strategies to reduce overload
→ interconectivity
→ folksonomy & bottom-up knowledge
→ big data
→ data visualisation
→ personalisation
→ curating (curated web)
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Strategies to reduce overload
→ ambient perception
→ switching between different modes of perception
→ being aware of the background
→ focusing on particular problems
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Storytelling
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Storytelling
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Scrollytelling
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Scrollytelling
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Data visualisation & data-driven stories
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Database as a cultural form
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Database vs. narrative
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Database and narrative are natural enemies.
ginal works fall away.
Lev Manovich, The Language of New Media
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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
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Design challenges
→ complex visualisation: exploration vs. explanation
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Design challenges
→ complex visualisation: exploration vs. explanation
→ visualisations show too much
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Design challenges
→ complex visualisation: exploration vs. explanation
→ visualisations show too much
→ users don’t interact
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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
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Design challenges
→ complex visualisation: exploration vs. explanation
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Design challenges
→ complex visualisation: exploration vs. explanation
→ engagement
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Design challenges
→ complex visualisation: exploration vs. explanation
→ engagement
→ users want to make sense of the world
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New competencies
→ visual culture / picture culture
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New competencies
→ visual culture / picture culture
→ secondary orality
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New competencies
→ visual culture / picture culture
→ secondary orality
→ different senses / media
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New competencies
→ visual culture / picture culture
→ secondary orality
→ different senses / media
→ digital / media literacies
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Do we read less online?
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Wykres od Waldka
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Meritocratic environment
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Meritocratic environment
→ the more you know, the more you can get
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Meritocratic environment
→ the more you know, the more you can get
→ combination of traditional and digital skills
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Future scenarios
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Book as hypertext?
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Book as hypertext?
→ failed experiments with multimedia format
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Book as hypertext?
→ failed experiments with multimedia format
→ electronic literature has yet to reach mainstream audience
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Non-paper books penetration
→ e-books – 7%
→ audiobooks – 7%
% of Polish population in 2017
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Non-paper books penetration
→ e-books have just ~5% of book market in Poland
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Reading becomes public
→ reading practices exposed / measured / analysed
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Reading becomes public
→ e-readers
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Reading becomes public
→ e-readers
→ online bookstores & recommendation services
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Reading becomes public
→ e-readers
→ online bookstores & recommendation services
→ new opportunities to reach audience
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New curators (curated web)
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New curators (curated web)
→ way to cope with information overload
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New curators (curated web)
→ way to cope with information overload
→ old-fashioned recommendations
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New curators (curated web)
→ way to cope with information overload
→ old-fashioned recommendations
→ personal trust
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Book as an artwork
→ art, design, architecture
→ photo albums
→ suvenire books
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Fragmentation
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Fragmentation
→ short run publishing
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Fragmentation
→ short run publishing
→ self-publishing
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Fragmentation
→ short run publishing
→ self-publishing
→ less income, more titles
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Fragmentation
→ short run publishing
→ self-publishing
→ less income, more titles
→ less fiction, more professional books
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Fragmentation
→ short run publishing
→ self-publishing
→ less income, more titles
→ less fiction, more professional books
→ specialized bookstores
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Book as a lifestyle
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Book as a lifestyle
→ small, specialized bookshops
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Book as a lifestyle
→ small, specialized bookshops
→ book cafes
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Book as a lifestyle
→ small, specialized bookshops
→ book cafes
→ libraries → cultural centres
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Book as a lifestyle
→ small, specialized bookshops
→ book cafes
→ libraries → cultural centres
→ book fairs → cultural festivals
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Book as a lifestyle
→ small, specialized bookshops
→ book cafes
→ libraries → cultural centres
→ book fairs → cultural festivals
→ slow reading
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Book as a stratification mechanism
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Book as a stratification mechanism
→ ~90% of cultural audience in Katowice
has higher education
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Book as a stratification mechanism
→ ~90% of cultural audience has higher education
→ just 38% of Poles read at least 1 book a year
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Book as a stratification mechanism
→ factors support reading:
– education level – 0,14
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Book as a stratification mechanism
→ factors support reading:
– education level – 0,14
– family upbringing / environment – 0,38
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Book as a stratification mechanism
→ factors support reading:
– education level – 0,14
– family upbringing / environment – 0,38
– environment (friends, school, work etc.) – 0,44