PUBLISHING

of a convergence between these two types of devices. It is quite possible to
read comfortably from a large smartphone, with the added advantage that
people already carry their phones on them, always and everywhere. Generally
speaking, and beyond the relatively narrow field of ebooks, it is fair to assume
that at least in Western and East Asian countries, most people spend more
time reading on electronic devices than they do on print.
Ongoing technological development of higher-quality screens is, at least for
the time being, a never-ending process: color e-paper screens, Ultra High
Density (4K) resolution, even flexible displays. However, recent research
shows that students preparing for tests and exams still prefer paper to electronic
displays. 2 In the field of educational texts, we are already seeing new
combinations of paper textbooks and electronic materials (such as image, audio
and film collections, and interactive tests and exams) that are written and
developed to complement each other. Where paper publications are used for
reading complex texts, (portable) electronic devices will simultaneously be
used for purposes of searching and meta-tagging, and for commenting and
debating on the content.
Presumably, all these developments will also find their way into areas outside
the world of education. It remains to be seen whether ‘social reading’ – which
includes social practices of browsing, annotating, sharing and quoting – will
really take off for ebooks, or whether this will remain the domain of ‘traditional’
social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Reddit. So far, the efforts in this
respect by established players like Kobo and startups like Sobooks have not
lived up to expectations.
The impact and value of digital libraries, with their extensive collections and
their specific advantages of affordability and portability, can hardly be overstated.
However this gain also comes at a price: dependence on electricity,
and loss of the visual and tactile qualities of paper books. Arguably, electronic
and print publishing are currently developing into opposite directions
precisely because of their opposite qualities of affordability/portability vs.
tangibility. As electronic books – integrated into vast digital libraries – gradually
replace generic text books such as paperbacks, printed books may well
2 Judith Stoop, Paulien Kreutzer, and Joost Kircz. 'Reading and Learning from Screens versus Print: a study
in changing habits. Part 1 – reading long information rich texts', New Library World, Vol. 114, Issue 7/8, pp.
284-300, 2013. 'Part 2 – comparing different text structures on paper and on screen', New Library World,
Vol. 114, Issue 9/10, pp. 371-383, 2013.
120