The hybrid library – digital and print in concert – is the future
No one really knows why e-book sales are in decline but the book market is undeniably on a different trajectory than that of the music & film industries. At the height of the rise of e-books, sales only accounted for 36% of all book sales and by April 2016 this proportion had slid to 32%. This data is based on the US focused Codex survey however this trend is corroborated throughout the world.
The analogue versus digital experience of music and video is largely unnoticeable especially when comparing the home theatre. In contrast, the difference between print and digital books is large with digital still not delivering the long-form reading experience that a physical book provides. Many explanations have been put forward about why print remains dominant but the reality is that no one really knows.
Most interestingly, it is young people who are bucking the digital trend with 18–24 year olds with the highest percentage (37%) reporting they want to spend less time on digital devices. It is also children’s books that are driving much of the growth in book sales. For example, children’s fiction book sales have grown from 109 million units in 2004 to 177 million in 2014 – a 62% increase.
What this means for school libraries is that, to remain relevant in our connected world, we need to stock print – especially for young people.
Libraries can learn from the giant e-retailer Amazon.com who has opened 3 bricks-and-mortar book stores with plans to open many more across the US. Clearly, libraries must also recognise the long-term dominance of print & the importance of a physical representation of that print. Amazon has however brought some subtle but profound innovations to the regular print store. Amazon stores feature,
- Front facing books rather than spine out, and
- Integrate the online experience with the physical stores through customer reviews and ratings.
Jeff Bezos stated that the physical presentation of books is “satisfying a completely different need. It’s about browsing and discovery.” These serendipitous moments of discovery is where the library can excel providing we similarly modernise our shelving and increase the ways students are able to connect with the collection.
As the relatively gentle rise of e-books subsides, libraries are presented with a huge opportunity to connect with readers and continue to be relevant centres for our school communities. Libraries must evolve in response to digital media however, clearly not at the expense of print.
The hybrid library is the future for libraries where the huge affordances of digital technologies are leveraged in concert with the powerful medium of print.
There is no reason to choose between digital and print books. Not only can they coexist but they can compliment & enrich each other for the benefit of all readers.
This is a great time for libraries.
