Between the ranting of the bibliophiles and the technophiles, some tempered voices are raising important questions about computers and books. The Future of the Book, edited by Geoffrey Nunberg, is a collection of such voices. The essayists are librarians, professors and writers. There's even an afterword by renowned semiologist and novelist Umberto Eco. This work frames the debate about the future of the book in the digital age with a lot of erudition but also some unwarranted concerns.
Several essays provide information about the history and development of the book.
They remark that the paper-based book, like the alphabet, was once the latest technological rage and was met with resistance, like the computer, from the establishment because books are more than delivery systems for information. They are a way of life developed over centuries. This revolution can radically alter the concept of the book as a legal, even sacred, object, undermining current concepts of the author and the reader as well. It will disrupt established publishing and distribution methods for texts. It will decentralize control and access of information currently dominated by the government, universities and libraries.