Years before the technology bug captured the world, the world was a different place altogether. I often wonder how tedious a process my search for an article would have been back in the initial 1990s.
All this has been simplified thanks to Google and not to mention other search engines. Well, there is no doubt the word Google has become synonymous with the verb 'Search'. It has just been a matter of a couple of years since Google went public (to be exact 2004) but it has changed our perspective of 'Search'.
Have you ever wondered how the world would have been without the internet or the search engines? Looking into those voluminous encyclopedias in libraries for a small project that you are to submit in your college...Unthinkable!
Well...may be we would have adapted to change but think! Would it have been possible to meet the deadlines if the project was given on short notice? The internet has changed this scenario. Infact ebooks are making their way into the academic world gradually affecting the age old libraries.
Well, this has both pros and cons. Considering the pros, you could own thousands of books in the digital format which would hardly take up any space in your living or study room. These books aren't worn out even with periodic usuage and can be saved in multiple locations...be it your laptop, smartphone or your desktop. Also it is eco - friendly! (Atleast you are reducing the number of trees cut down for publishing your favourite book)
Now, for the cons. Not everyone would welcome change. The ancient libraries still have a certain amount of appeal - Myriad number of racks with books and manuscripts much older than you lying there. Not to forget the cost of these devices which is way too much compared to the traditional books.
Imagine all the books to be replaced by their digital counterparts. In case of a public library which would have millions of books and thousands of users, estimate the number of digital ebook readers that the library has to invest on! In this case, the library has to come up with other alternatives such as online access with the books uploaded on the web. This would result in an entire new definition of lending books! Well...technically the users can have a copy themselves!!!
So we can conclude the evolution of print media over the ages as...
All this has been simplified thanks to Google and not to mention other search engines. Well, there is no doubt the word Google has become synonymous with the verb 'Search'. It has just been a matter of a couple of years since Google went public (to be exact 2004) but it has changed our perspective of 'Search'.
Have you ever wondered how the world would have been without the internet or the search engines? Looking into those voluminous encyclopedias in libraries for a small project that you are to submit in your college...Unthinkable!
Well...may be we would have adapted to change but think! Would it have been possible to meet the deadlines if the project was given on short notice? The internet has changed this scenario. Infact ebooks are making their way into the academic world gradually affecting the age old libraries.
Well, this has both pros and cons. Considering the pros, you could own thousands of books in the digital format which would hardly take up any space in your living or study room. These books aren't worn out even with periodic usuage and can be saved in multiple locations...be it your laptop, smartphone or your desktop. Also it is eco - friendly! (Atleast you are reducing the number of trees cut down for publishing your favourite book)
Now, for the cons. Not everyone would welcome change. The ancient libraries still have a certain amount of appeal - Myriad number of racks with books and manuscripts much older than you lying there. Not to forget the cost of these devices which is way too much compared to the traditional books.
Imagine all the books to be replaced by their digital counterparts. In case of a public library which would have millions of books and thousands of users, estimate the number of digital ebook readers that the library has to invest on! In this case, the library has to come up with other alternatives such as online access with the books uploaded on the web. This would result in an entire new definition of lending books! Well...technically the users can have a copy themselves!!!
So we can conclude the evolution of print media over the ages as...
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| The ancient stone tablet |
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| The ancient papyrus manuscript |
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| Modern age books |
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| Accessing ebooks using an ebook reader |
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