I was recently watching “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and the host made a reference to books about kids not knowing what they were anymore. He did however make a funny note reference of it though, he said that it was interactive because the pages could be turned and that information could be downloaded by running your finger near the letters and reading the words. This is a funny remark because many adults believe this to be completely true. Books have almost become obsolete. We have library’s that are full of books and they are soon becoming almost useless. My grandfather used to gather the kids around and tell stories about his childhood and most of the kids would try so hard to avoid it. We thought it was punishment from the holidays. With the introduction of the new Kindles and other plastic books, the new fangled computers that hold up to 3000 books in the form of text on a small computer you can hold in your hand and take anywhere, books are fast becoming cumbersome and obsolete. The stories told by word of mouth are just seen as punishment as the books are seen as heavy and useless. But can’t we change the minds of people? I can remember going into my local library and scanning the books and thinking about how a book must be a good read because the cover was tattered and gray from all of the hands that had passed it. Most of the generation is almost disgusted with the germs that are lurking on those pages. It is interesting to see the changes we are making, but we must also consider the books that haven’t made the “move” over to these new forms of information transfers. I know that I will miss the pretty covers and the books that had me intrigued just because I could hear their story calling me from the shelf. Long live the library and it’s long winding shelves of living memories!
This blog is used for Interdisciplinary Composition. I hope that it is a much fun to read as it will be to write!
Great post Olivia! I believe both of us share some of the same feelings when it comes to books and libraries. Your explanation of how you would choose books that were “tattered and gray” sounds very familiar. We must have the same selection process. Libraries are quickly becoming more of a museum of older books, rather than a place of everyday reading and reference material. I can remember 18 years ago or so, school libraries would be full of students either reading or researching there next big paper. Today, this is almost certainly a thing of the past. The convenience and access of the personal computer has left its mark on the way we gather information.
ReplyDeleteAlthough all of us in this class must have access to a computer, I cannot help but think of the millions of people that do not. The age of computers and electronics has been quite exciting. But it comes at a cost that not everyone can afford. There are countless number of youth that once they leave the confines of their school classroom, have no access to the internet and the mass quantity of information it provides. One could even say that a form of unintentional class warfare is taking place in regards to reading and research materials. Hopefully the printed page will endure the battle of convenience.