I agree that this new age, the age of computers and technology, cell phones, satellites, e-mail, etc., has come so quickly that it is difficult to see how fast the changes really are happening. The whole act of reading a book will become a pastime. This means that computers and other electronics will be the main provider for reading, writing, learning, and interacting activities. Unlike Birkerts, I do not believe that books will be found only in museums or suffer in any major way because of computers. There is no way that I would get rid of my books, because I enjoy reading too much.
Nothing beats reading a great story to a child, or curling up with a page-turning novel.
I realize that electronic technology will serve as a main provider for learning, but I don't feel that it will eradicate books altogether as Birkerts suggests. Another fear of Birkerts is that visual elements will take over conceptual and cognitive ones. Those who don't enjoy reading, but who like to look at pictures, will find the graphic design elements of computers appealing. So much information will be accessible to the public that it is almost silly to think that cognitive and interpretive skills will disappear. Perhaps more people will begin to write because they know they can put their work on their computers by use of the Internet, where others will actually see what they have to offer.