The current society relies on different technologies to perform various tasks, as well as for the purpose of learning and entertainment. New technologies have changed the manner in which things were typically done in the past including the reading of books. In the past, people would have to physically go to places such as libraries or bookstores to access books. However, in the present day society, people have been able to access books through new technologies such as online libraries and databases. As a result, the book industry has experienced numerous changes since people now use digital technologies to access and read books. Digital technologies are changing the book industry in a manner that is can be depicted as having positive change as well as negative change. The aim of this assignment, therefore, is to describe how digital technologies are changing the book industry.
Digital technologies, in the current society more than ever, have caused a disruption in the book industry, also commonly referred to as the publishing industry. Digital technologies such as the internet, the e-book, as well as printing of demand have disrupted the book industry by influencing all the aspects of the publishing value chain (Ronte, 2001). Digital technologies have become drivers of change whereby the manner in which the book industry initially conducted operations has changed completely. For instance, as opposed to reaching readers as a result of an author’s book being published, authors can now go directly to the reader, which is attributed to digital technologies.
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The book industry has also undergone a disruptive change with regards to the distribution of publication owing to digital technologies enabling the establishment of electronic marketplaces (Tian & Martin, 2009). Now people do not have to physically buy the books from bookstores since there are online avenues consisting of e-tailers who sell and have the books delivered to readers (Ronte, 2001). Therefore, the power that was associated with the physical distribution of books in the books industry has been quelled, thus bringing about change in that industry. The book industry is no longer geographically or time-bound as books can be published, marketed, bought as well as read at any time from anywhere in the world thanks to digital technologies such as the e-book.
Digital technologies have also had a monetary implication to the book industry owing to the new manner in which distribution occurs. When digital copies of a book are distributed, no costs are incurred hence the marginal costs of producing an additional book are nil. This has resulted in the book industry being deprived of the marginal costs of producing additional books when digital copies are distributed, hence digital technologies’ negative implication on the book industry (McAllister, McAllister, & Vivian, 2002). In addition to that, digital technologies also have the potential to promote an increase in fixed costs. This is because of the initial cost of installation of the networks and systems that will make digital publishing possible. Digital technologies also have the potential of causing a decline in the number of customers who still rely on the book industry as their major source for books, as well as related publications. Customers may prefer digital technologies as the source from which they buy or borrow books as it is more convenient, less cumbersome, as well as unique (Ronte, 2001). This is attributed to the aspects associated with digital technologies that are lacking in the book industry, such as high-speed distribution and exclusive access.
In addition to that, the younger generations who have been born during the digital times may never see the use of the book industry as they will access their books and other publications through digital devices such as their phones or computers. This is because, they will be more familiar with accessing books electronically than physically going to the bookstores and libraries, thus causing a decline of customers for the book industry. All these implications have a negative impact of the book industry as there are issues of lost revenue, as well as a decline in the customer base (McAllister, McAllister, & Vivian, 2002). Digital technologies also have the associated negative aspect of piracy, which will result in reduced sells for the book industry. This is because, there is the risk of e-book being copied and illegally distributed on the internet, which deprives authors and publishers of revenue that could have been generated if the books were bought through the book industry. Just as print replaced the oral tradition, digital technologies may also replace print in various aspect of the community, which will have a negative implication on the book industry in the form of a decline (Ronte, 2001). In the future, more people may show interest in digital text than print since digital text may be easily accessible, especially since e-books have the search option. Such aspects and features of the digital technologies may render the book industry cumbersome.
Some of the major players in the book industry such as retailers and salespeople will become less influential as some of the aspects of the industry’s operations will no longer be theirs to control. For instance, retailers and salespeople can no longer control buying and selling behavior since content publishing is no longer depends on traditional printing (Tian & Martin, 2009). Overall, digital technologies have brought about competition that has yet to be experienced in the book industry up until a decade and a half ago. This has required the book industry to consider implementing some changes and adapting to new ways of doing certain things in order to remain competitive and relevant.
The book industry can, however, benefit from digital technologies, having a positive implication on the industry. Digital technologies can improve the performance of the book industry, thus changing it into a more effective industry. For instance, through digital technologies instances where a publisher is out-of-print will no longer exist. This will make the book industry’s traditional supply chain shorter, as well as faster through digital technologies such as the e-book. This will revolutionize the book industry into a more efficient industry as global distribution will also be made faster and easier (Carreiro, 2010). A shorter and faster distribution system lowers the supply chain costs, thus resulting in more profit for authors and publishers, both who are key contributors in the book industry (Tian & Martin, 2010). The low supply chain costs can also result in lowering the cost for readers, thus promoting increased readership, which will ultimately translate into profits for the book industry. The issue of piracy can be resolved by the protection of e-books using compression and encryption such as using a digital object identifier (DOI). The book industry can establish some of its own digital technologies such as printing on demand, in an effort to make less cumbersome some of the processes conducted within the industry to ensure books are available for readers (Carreiro, 2010). This will improve the performance of the book industry by making the associated activities much faster, thus a positive implication of digital technologies on the industry.
Digital technologies cannot completely overrun the books industry as some aspect of the book industry still remains highly relevant in this digital age. E-books cannot entirely substitute printed books because they are still very costly and some people prefer hard copies of their books. For instance, small children who cannot handle technology devices such as computer sill rely on printed books, thus digital technologies have only a certain amount of influence on the book industry. Therefore, as opposed to having a substituting effect, digital technologies should be viewed as complementing or supplementing the book industry (Carreiro, 2010). There is hope for the book industry despite the existence of digital technologies such as e-books. There are numerous individuals who are pleasure readers and prefer having their reading material in actual print rather than in the form of an e-book. Such individuals will remain, customers of the book industry, thus digital technologies having no possibility of making books extinct which may be detrimental to the book industry. Overall, if the book industry considered implementing the use of digital technologies in its operations, thus evolving, it will be more efficient and it can still generate revenue and profits from operations (Carreiro, 2010). The book industry has to, however, be strategic with regards to the adoption of digital technologies as some people prefer the authentic nature of the industry, thus the aspect of digital technologies supplementing some of its operations.
Conclusion
Digital technologies have indeed influenced the book industry bringing about both positive and negative implications and changes. Some of the negative implications have included disruption of the book industry, depriving it of marginal costs, as well as depriving it of certain customers. However, the book industry can consider incorporating digital technologies into some of its operations, thus bringing about the positive change. Overall, if the book industry considered implementing the use of digital technologies in its operations, thus evolving, it will be more efficient and it can still generate revenue and profits from operations.
References
Carreiro, E. (2010). Electronic books: how digital devices and supplementary new technologies are changing the face of the publishing industry. Publishing research quarterly , 26 (4), 219-235.
McAllister, D., McAllister, N., & Vivian, S. (2002). The impact of digital books upon print publishing. In Technology and Society, 2002.(ISTAS'02). 2002 International Symposium on (pp. 150-154). IEEE.
Ronte, H. (2001). The impact of technology on publishing. Publishing research quarterly , 16 (4), 11-22.
Tian, X., & Martin, B. (2009, November). Implications of digital technologies for book publishing. In Cooperation and Promotion of Information Resources in Science and Technology, 2009. COINFO'09. Fourth International Conference on (pp. 295-303). IEEE.
Tian, X., & Martin, B. (2010). Digital technologies for book publishing. Publishing research quarterly , 26 (3), 151-167.
