Literacy and the Digital Age

I was going to skip my weekly blog this week because I really didn't have much to say. I can't even look at the "Stimulus" bill with having to excuse myself to retch in the bathroom, so I didn't feel like writing about that... I was also confronted with a very disturbing case of homosexual discrimination that was put under the guise of an act of academic freedom. I have not felt that much rage in a long time. If there is one thing other than limited government I am in favor of, it is the full Equal Protection of the Laws as set forth in the 14th Amendment. I think this applies to all people in our nation and that homosexual discrimination (and anti-immigration policies) are the remaining holdouts in that area. And, people who use academic freedom as an excuse to slander and discriminate against another group is the worst abuse of such freedom. It makes me so unbelievable infuriated that I cannot write about it further today without suffering a heart attack from my heightened blood pressure, so I will move on to the topic at hand: the digitization of books (the product being called eBooks.)

Personally, I love eBooks for every possible reason. For the free sharing of ideas across generations, geographies, languages, and income thresholds. For the ability to publish your own thoughts and writings without having to go through a traditional avenue if that is not your goal. And, most importantly, to readily access information wherever you are. Obviously, the internet has opened this door, but eBooks continue it.

One of the best ways to access eBooks is through Amazon's Kindle (which was sold out by the beginning of December despite the economic slump. And it's not cheap.) Another, is through Google Books, which is making historic headway in coming to agreements with copyright holders to search and share information. Google Books also lets you add any title you publish (virtually or otherwise) to their site where it will be freely promoted and accessible through Book Search. I think this is wonderful... even though I don't necessarily look forward to having to sort through more items when performing a Book Search. Ultimately, more competition will increase quality because your work will have to be that much better (or at least have that much more buzz) than the others that are out there. People are also increasingly promoting their eBooks from their own blogs, website, and social media platforms. Good for them! The Internet Age is causing a societal shift in the way people interact and share information, and eBooks are only one way that is supporting this shift.

However, there are certain people who think this is terrible... that the mere act of holding the paper in your hands constitutes some kind of virtuous act and therefore all forms of digitized books should be done away with (you can't say banned because they don't want books to be banned in libraries... only online libraries.) They also think digitization will be the end of literacy and apparently Western Civilization as we know it because somehow this will cause all Publishing Houses to go out of business and libraries to be burned to the ground simultaneously. Then the government would obviously step in to prevent the digitized copies from being distributed to the masses and scourging them from the Internet and personal libraries and personal computers resulting in the mass eradication of all books in the world.

I'm sorry if I don't see the doom and gloom. This guy sure does though. And apparently 205 of his closest Internet friends.

I guess this all to say that I am incredibly pro-literacy and pro-technology. I think book digitization represents the best of both worlds because it provides broader access to literary tools... aka books... with less cost (to users and publishers.) Digitization allows for better and less expensive translation options which makes distribution wider as well. Also, physical libraries are not going anywhere. If they do, I will be the first person in line protesting the book burning. Until then, I can't wait until I save enough to buy my Kindle and will continue to fully utilize all online books that meet my interest or purpose. I encourage you to do the same. And if you don't know where these sites exist, just let me know and I can send you some great links!