I am currently having an online discussion with some of my wonderful librarian friends about whether or not the newest generation of youth/young adults are the harbinger of the BOOK. What is the future of the book?

Here are some perspectives I’ve heard:

• books look old, like microform readers look old to the 20s and 30s generations
• books are necessary and young adults are just not looking at them enough
• young adults don’t consider reading online reading
• students may not be motivated to look beyond the screen
• “whether it’s paper or a screen, what matters is whether or not the information needs of these students are being met”
• that abandoning books is like abandoning crucial infrastructure in a city
• information is changing so rapidly that as soon as a book is published that information is now obsolete
• growing up with the screen has changed the way we think

I personally believe that we will be bookless within the next ten years compared to how many books libraries currently do have. 

Here are some other places this conversation is taking place, too:

• The iPad tablet replaces (reboots) the book: http://radar.oreilly.com/2009/09/rebooting-the-book-one-apple-i.html
• This group is documenting the progress as we shift from the book to the screen: http://www.futureofthebook.org/

I can see a future where we’ll have the “book room” for access to information not available on the web that will look like the “Microfilms Room” or “Microfims area.”

What do you think?