Paper or Digital?
(picture thanks to eHow)
The other day i was driving to meet a friend for coffee. i was in an anti social mode and typically when i am in that mood i love to listen to NPR…i know, i know…super liberal and some of you probably think i am a sinner for listening to liberal radio, but during the day they have very interesting content.
Well, this day they were talking about some Prep Schools removing all of their paper books and replacing them with e-readers.
I had mixed thoughts about this. The nostalgic feelings that well up in me when i see a book that i read and held and cried in and wrote in the margin…i cant imagine not having that. But its pretty cool.
Then today YouVersion had a webinar to explain some of the new stuff that is coming out (that is pretty cool) and Bobby Greunwald was talking about being at a conference where people were asked to hold up their Bibles and most people held up their cell phones….
Once again…i was thinking about what it would be like to not have a paper Bible in my hands. My Bible is all written in and marked up with significant dates and lessons in my life….and i cant imagine not having that….But YouVersion and the Bible in my pocket on my phone is pretty cool…convenient and just and awesome tool.
So this week i have spent a lot of my time thinking about what it would be like with no books. that you buy a kindle or another e-reader and buy an e-book….you cant put them on a book shelf….you cant write in the margins…you cant pass it on to a friend or re-sell it.
But it would be easier, better on the earth (and yes, sometimes i am “green”), better financially…and would be very convenient…and it would work. It was like the transition from CD’s to MP3’s….or scrolls to books….
I'm not especially nostalgic, but I do treasure the books I had as a child. However, I'm really excited about the Apple Tablet that's coming 'soon', as then I likely won't need to buy a book again.
I don't miss CDs at all, so the >1500 of them now "rot" in my back room. We sell some of them on MusicStack, but the vast majority just sit there because they're all now on iTunes.
Real v virtual is an ongoing argument that will continue for a while I reckon.
Back to the specifics of the schools stuff though…why not use e-readers for new purchases, but keep the existing paper books for use as well. A real-life transition to the virtual.
Personally, I think that the eBooks need to come down in cost. The readers should be no more than $150 and should come with a few books installed. The books should also come down in cost. If the bulk of the printing and distribution overhead is no longer applicable, the product should reflect that cost difference. It is the same as MP3s as opposed to CDs. The price HAS to be lower for the market to grow.
First off, NPR rocks! I'm a fan of Fresh Air and Science Friday, to name a couple of their programs.
Second, I think the convenience of e-books and the like is thrilling. My high school son has several versions of the Bible, as you mentioned, and he uses them frequently. Some of his textbooks are e-versions. I think they are a great option, since they can be so interactive, budget friendly for the schools, lighter on the backpack, etc. However, I am genuinely concerned about adding even more to the dumps in the form of defunct e-ware. The volume of cell phones, computers, iPods, PDAs, and now Kindle related wares is staggering. We may save trees, but we are creating a toxic hazard.
I love the convenience of having E-books. I love having my bible on my iPhone and and even have my Greek & Hebrew Bibles on my cell. What's the drawback? Well…when I get a text it pops up in front of God's Word, when I get a call it digitally alters the screen, when my battery is low a notification superimposes itself over the text. Further, my phone is also dedicated as an address book, contact list, GPS device, camera, video game console, etc. It is very… impermanent, changing function every few minutes. Maybe it's just me, but that feels empty at times. When I hold my Bible in print, is has texture, smell, memories, and it's unchangeable. If I'm reading Jesus' conversation on the Road to Emmaus, the words on the page don't change. No phone call, no voice from the other room, no text message can impose itself on those pages…they remain as they have been. And I need that permanence, I need to tangibly hold and read God's Word knowing it is alive, yet concrete and in this fixed form. God's Word is still God's Word on my iPhone, but that device serves so many other purposes it's often hard to give precedence to Scripture…it becomes an app among apps. I think we need to ask questions such as: "What does it do to us subconsciously when we can see what we call Divine Speech appear & disappear before us? Are the things that replace or impose themselves upon it taking away from the aspect of holy revelation? Does technological impermanence create compartmentalization in our Christian lives?"
There are many more questions to ask, and I think they're worthy. That being said, I am very much in favor of technology that enables carrying God's Word with us & reading it by any means possible. I've started asking some of the people at my church, to bring their Bibles as an act of devotion & spiritual discipline. I bring my English Bible, and follow along in Greek/Hebrew on my iPhone. Sometimes, I read from that in sermons. Great Blog Lynse :)
-Shaylon