Photograph: David Parry/PAHow did I miss this? I like technology. I like books. I read Time magazine when we’re in Bloomington visiting the other Mr. & Mrs. White.
The Espresso Book Machine, introduced by On Demand Books in June 2007 and named a Time magazine "invention of the year" is:
…an ATM for books that automatically prints, binds, and trims, on demand at point of sale, perfect-bound, library-quality paperback books. These books,which have full color covers, are indistinguishable from other books sold in bookstores. A 300-page book can be produced in four minutes…The EBM, which looks like a very complicated photo-copier, is currently in use at a dozen locations in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the U.K. They also have one at the library in Alexandria, Egypt. The newest one (they’re on version 2.0 at this point) went live at the Blackwell’s book shop in London three weeks ago.
~ On Demand Books
So what’s the big deal? Other than making scholars in search of out of print books and self-published authors very happy, why is this machine being called the greatest revolution in books since the Gutenberg press? According to Blackwell chief executive Andrew Hutchins,
This could change bookselling fundamentally…It's giving the chance for smaller locations, independent booksellers, to have the opportunity to truly compete with big stock-holding shops and Amazon ... I like to think of it as the revitalisation of the local bookshop industry. If you could walk into a local bookshop and have access to one million titles, that's pretty compelling.~ The GuardianHe has a point, although I'm not convinced the change would necessarily be for the better. Wouldn't this option just put all bookstores out of business?? Technology always improves and gets more affordable (the original iPod had a 5G capacity and cost $400 when it came out in 2000 - you can get a 120G iPod for $225 today). The EBM currently costs about $175,000. In ten years, we'll be walking into the local 7-Eleven and printing off our own personal copies of the latest best seller. That sounds convenient, just not a lot of fun.
3 comments:
ATMs like book dispensers...what kind of monster have we created?? The luxury of books (outside of the insanity of decimating hectares of forest every nanosecond, but that's another topic) is the tactile pleasure that comes with the entire process. You go to the library (preferably, as long as you ignore the smelly people, who are going to get kicked out anyway) or the bookstore. You walk slowly, and casually peruse the topics. You find things that perhaps you wouldn't be interested in ordinarily but there it is, in front of you...saying "READ ME SEYMOUR!" And so you do. You expand your horizons. You learn about something new, different, or simply more about a favorite topic. It is the journey people, not the destination! The exchange of that process with the pressing of a button is part of the ongoing desensitization of humanity, a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions.
Anon - I agree, the act of reading is just a part of the entire book experience. Unfortunately, I believe there is a very real danger of losing the tactile component of the process as technology advances.
The Kindle is the perfect example - while a convenient tool, the entire experience takes place electronically. You can search book titles, select and purchase something to read and get started reading all in the space of 5 minutes and without leaving your chair.
Don't get me wrong, I love technology and the benefits we all enjoy because of it. But I also don't want to lose the pleasure of wandering through a bookstore or library, physically surrounded by hundreds of opportunities to explore new ideas or escape into different worlds.
I've shopped on-line and although the experience is limited (it's basically a transaction) at the end of the day, you still have a physical item in your hands.
I worry that physcial bookstores, libraries, even physical books will one day disappear and while that might be a good thing ecologically, it will be a great loss culturally.
At least for me the reward from reading is in getting transported somewhere else. The physical media tends to disappear if the book is good enough so it didn’t really matter if I’m flipping through a yellowed paperback or hitting the next page button on my Kindle.
Any maybe you have better bookstores than I run into on the road but the majority seem to be chains staffed by bored college students there to push the latest bestsellers. How many copies of Twilight do you see if you walk into your average B&N? If you want a recommendation on an obscure area of science fiction you’re better off hitting Amazon or one of the book forums and browsing recommendations put out by other users.
I’m a long time fan of used bookstores and I generally would walk out with stacks of paperbacks and I’ve put in my share of days wandering the shelves at the library. There I was generally making judgments based on what was printed on the back of the book cover. Half the time that was either misleading or gave away the entire plot of the book. Amazon at least you get a summary, reviews, lists of similar books.
Not to mention now instead of having a list I carry around in my head of books I’d like to read when I finally find a bookstore that has them in stock I’m actually reading those books.
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