open book
The Role of the Book in a Digital Age.
Download Open Book: The Role of the Book in a Digital Age.
(Badly written, ill-informed 2:1 graded, with 5 full-colour illustrations)
This is a thought, or rather a topic of mine that is ongoing in every sense of the word, as it arguably has no conclusion.
The topic concerns the role of the book in a digital age.
It has been discussed and debated, hailed and denounced throughout both print and digital media.
I don't intend to solve this problem or conclude the debate, I simply want to document the cultural shift from print to digital or the cultural inclusion of digital into print.
So, to summarise: here's a long story cut short.
Boy interested in design. Boy furthers interest by attending University (okay it was an Art College). Boy ponders the future of his discipline in his student pessimistic stage. Boy Decides that only way to decide on the future was to investigate. Boy writes dissertation, Open Book: The Role of the Book in a Digital Age.
Boy is disillusioned in thinking that a subject vast in uncertainty could be solved by a 11,000 word dissertation. Boy wakes up. Boy realises that this is an ongoing debate and decides to open the research and debate to the entire world, with the help of the Internet.
Boy feels irony in having a debate and posting research about the future of a medium grounded in print, online.
Boy does it anyway, he isn't bothered. Boy believes they can live in harmony.
Boy asks anyone interested to email, post, write, throw, speak, or print anything they think will help in documenting and coming close to determining the role of the book in a digital age.
Boy promises to put his findings online when he has the time: Boy has to pay the rent.
Boy, however, hopes you enjoy the offering.
comment / submit / offer to hello@craigoldham.co.uk
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Website Links
Articles and sites on and concerning the topic.
A small think tank on chronicling the cultural change from print to screen.
An Inconvenient Truth? by Steven Heller.
The Battle to Define the Future by Clifford Lynch
Do Books Still Matter? By Soandso Blahdiblah (Couldn't find the name)
The Future of Print and the Challenges of Sustainability. Quite a topical one and often the first thing people raise with the question, all the "ohh, but it damages the environment" reel. Hello. Recycled paper. Sustainable sources. Use what you will and then recycle it. Sorry, moan over.
Newspapers in 2020:Paper VS Digital Delivery and Display Media by Roger Fidler, 1999.
Means of human communication though time by Irene Piechota, 2002.
BBC Digital Timeline: A brief summary timeline of the history of the computer chip.
9 attempts to define the basic characteristics of the book by Daniele Barbiero.
Database of The British Library showing off a collection of various bindings.
Harper Collins' authonomy.com: allows aspiring authors to upload their books for the critique from the online community allowing "…us to see what the next big thing might be among the democracy of the Internet."
Technological Impact
Technologies that are bringing reassessment
E Ink Corporation. Developed an Electronic Paper Display that possess a paper-like high contrast appearance and a thin, light form giving the viewer the experience of reading from paper, while having the power of updatable information.
This Robot at robotlab has been programmed to write out the entire Luther Bible. Jesus. Have another look here.
The RCA ControlPrint is a research initiative into the introduction of technology on Print.
Yellow Springs, Ohio, where the local newspaper has only just updated to a new technological printer from their old press.
Cultural Impact of Books
The role the books plays within our visual culture.
Brian Dettmer's Book Autopsies: Visual interpretation of books.
Pulp Fiction by Thomas Allen: A witty interpretation of books and their illustrations. Love the Shadow Boxing.
A number of Artists that use the Book as their medium.
Tristan Tzara's precursor to the cut-up technique used by the surrealists, and later Brion Gysin, to create new narratives using the book and the printed word.
Sculpted Book in a Bell Jar by Paul Sartre.
Out of Order by Marianne Vierø, 2005. Researching patterns from the Gerrit Rietveld library collection.
The Dissected Manuscript posted by user Fungus Amungus at instructables.com
BibliOdyssey: Books, Illustrations, Science, History, Visual Materia Obscura, Eclectic Bookart. A definite addition to the bookshelf too, designed by FUEL.
A lovely collection of make-shift bookmarks found in books purchased at 'flea markets, garage sales, used bookstores, etc...' by Bill Keaggy.
Design and the Elastic Mind exhibition at New York's MOMA.
Gunter Rambow has worked on some amazing book-centered work, especially in posters (also featured in Michael Johnson's Problem Solved book).
Mladen Penev's The Power of the Book series, 2005. Now part of the artworks collection of the University of Applied Arts Vienna.
Richard Wentworth's False ceiling.
Kyle Bean: An Illustrator focuses on The Future of the Book.
Sam Winston works with words, books and dictionaries to create a strong visual narrative.
An Abandoned Library in Russia.
Books and Design
The impact of books on the design industry.
Irma Boom on what defines a book to her. Courtesy of D&AD.
Design Week: Beautiful Browsing and the impact of Interior design in bookstores, Clare Dowdy, 25/01/07.
Faber Books' Flickr Stream: Shows their entire, beautifully designed collection.
Covers: A great Book Cover Design Blog.
Designer Bookbinders: One of the foremost societies devoted to the craft of fine bookbinding.
Jennifer Chan, Product Designer, has created some great items circling the idea of book usability (great book case and the book night stand).
30 of the most creative Bookshelves designs, apparently.
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Books
Strange, but there are books about books.
The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age by Sven Birkerts
The Nature of the Book: Print and Knowledge in the Making by A Johns
The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe by Elizabeth L. Eisenstein (Must be good with a name like that)
Turning the Pages™ from The British Library uses the Adobe Shockwave software to simulate the action of turning the pages of a real book.
A Reading List from the Rare Books School at The University of Virginia.
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Ebooks
Links and Products
Stephen Barros on The Amazon Kindle: The "ipod of books."
A few words from Chipp Kidd.
The Amazon Kindle
Franklin eBookMan
Cybook Gen 3 from Bookeen
The Sony Reader from (and I'm making an educated guess here) Sony
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Social Aspects
The Impact on us Socially from the drive of Technology
Is the advancement of technology making us lonely and depressed? The Times.
RSS Readers and Blogging Identity from Astheria. Interesting that the way you write a blog article may be the only way to create a successful identity with the impact of RSS.
The future of our libraries. From Slate.
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Visuals
Articles, Chapters, Sections, Highlights, Personal Thoughts, Scribbles, Findings on Books and the core topic.
Note: I have tried to credit and reference all writings' original source. Where I have been unable to obtain this information I have left a blank area. If you know this information, would like me to credit, exhibit or remove the material shown please contact me.
Rick Poynor answers my questions on the role of the book in a digital age, 20/10/05.
The Guardian Review: John Lanchester on the future of the book, 07/04/07.
The Media Guardian: Kim Fletcher, A Bright Future for Newspapers, 19/12/05.
World's oldest newspaper goes digital, Karl Ritter, 05/02/06.
