Monday, April 24, 2017

Week 16 Prompt


What an absolute interesting discussion to end the semester on, not to mention to finished my last semester in the MLIS program. These two questions have been things that have come up more and more as my graduate experience has progressed, as well as discourse with patrons who have asked me similar framed questions. 

1. How have reading and books changed since you were a child, for you specifically?

Growing up in a small town, in Northwest Ohio, reading was something that I as a kid used as an escape. When you live in a place when there isn't really much to do, you have to find entertainment somehow and because of that, the library became my second home. Technology wasn't a huge part of libraries, wifi didn't exist, and books were one of the only reasons you went to the library. Everything with books were in hardcopy, there was no discussion of downloadable media. Many of the audiobooks at my library were books on tape, not even CD. Now as the years have progressed, downloadable materials have made a dent into the printing industry, however books are still very prominent. Libraries have also become a place where books aren't the sole focus anymore and because of this reading and books themselves in the sense of libraries has changed. 

2. Talk about what you see in the future for reading, books, or publishing- say 20 years from now.

In the future, I see books surviving. Everyone talked about how downloadable books would overtake normal hardcopy books, however printed materials have stood the test of time and will continue to do so. I see a lot more of self-publishing starting to happen and independent authors might become a larger part of libraries. I can see these books finding their way amongst the larger fiction collection, or being separated out to showcase independent self-published books. I think reading will continue to be  a habit engrained in people's minds. I believe reading will still be something that is used as an escape from the "real" world and will entail mostly reading for pleasure. I can also see reading becoming a more interactive experience where there may be online formats in which there are animated stories that pair with the actual readings of the book.   




3 comments:

  1. I completely agree with your statement on books sticking around. I believe I even read an article recently that print books have gone up in sales, and ebooks are all over the place in sales it seems.

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  2. Hi, first congratulations on your last semester at IUPUI. Secondly, I also lived in a small community in the Midwest and my library was similar to yours. It has seen grown in size and added other mediums as you mentioned (and more). It was like a second home to me as well even without all of the added resources! I think it is great that it is more like an active community center than a traditional library.

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  3. Wonderful final response! Full points!

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