[** This is x-posted to the Historical Threads blog]

Whither* the printed page?

I got the title of this post from an interesting review of Robert Darnton’s latest book, The Case for Books: Past, Present, and Future, which Andreas Hess reviewed in the Times Higher Education.

The conclusion of Hess’ review is that

“We should not panic. There may even be some flip side to the tossed coin: digital technology and modern information systems can be used to support books and texts, tell us about their location and content, and thereby make it easier to reach the physical shelves in the shortest time possible – thus leaving more time for reading.”

What dost thou thinketh?

p.s. read the comment thread for the source of this post’s title.

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* I use this word to come across as appropriately academic; I hope the effort succeeds.

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