The end of the printed word

Reports from the Frankfurt Book Fair say that e-book rights sales are rising fast, driven by America. Europe is horrified by the idea of hard-copy books vanishing, publishers are in turmoil, profits are plunging. Except that no-one can see any evidence. The rare early adopter, usually male, well-off and young, can be seen toting an electronic device, but most of us are reading books.

It would probably stay that way if it wasn’t for the involvement of four major companies: Amazon, Sony, Apple and Google, who are driving the new model. In the US, 35% of the sales of Jonathan Franzen’s new novel are electronic. Now something in the delivery chain has to go; will it be the publisher, the bookseller or the agent? Who will combine to bring books direct to the reader?

Amazon prices are low because you can only read them on the ugly old button-smothered Kindle. There’s no aesthetic appeal. But is there any more appeal in a nasty WH Smith edition of an airport bonkbuster?

There’s a war coming: publishers against retailers. The problem is that companies like Apple and Amazon are so huge, they don’t need to sell books at all. They’d sell them for 20p a copy because they make their money from selling hardware. This is just the start.

One of my favorite activities in a library is roaming through the stacks and finding a book I didn’t know I needed in my life. Such happy accidents! There are great reads waiting to be discovered around virtually every corner.

Look! Here’s a nonfiction book about badly behaving women in history that I haven’t seen before. I love those books. And I didn’t realize that a certain bestselling author had a new book out. And that’s just a short summary from my last trip to the library. I always bring a large tote bag with me to the library to fill with books.

Browsing bookshelves at a library or a bookstore is one of my best ways of discovering new reads.

However, our public libraries are being asked to do more with tighter budgets. Libraries are becoming community centers often providing a wide-range of programs to its patrons. My neighborhood library offers art programs, sewing lessons, computer classes, and a myriad of children activities. They also have ebooks, audiobooks, and music available for download, DVDs, audiobooks CDs, music CDs, as well as a large selection of books. This collection must continually be updated with new releases and purging older materials that are no longer being checked out. New materials can be costly, especially if they need to be purchased in multiple formats (hardcover, ebook, and audiobook.) New technology equipment must be purchased from time to time too. And librarians have to be trained to use the new systems. Many libraries don’t have the budgets to cover the cost of doing, well, everything. Hard decisions must be made.

A few libraries have decided to help their bottom line by eliminating print books.

Wait. What? No! Are you serious?

That was my knee-jerk reaction the first time I read about what are being called bookless libraries. (The name is misleading. They’re not actually bookless. There are books available in the libraries, just not the print editions.) But really, this isn’t right. Such libraries are depriving the public of the joy of discovery that I’ve already described.

Will libraries become cyber cafés? Will the sweet scent of books be replaced with a metallic smell? No. I don’t like this. Yes, I do enjoy reading ebooks. But losing print books. No, this doesn’t make me happy.

I wonder if our ancestors felt the same sense of panic and loss when the codex replace scrolls. A codex is a predecessor of a modern-day book. It has pages that are stitched together. The introduction of the codex changed how books looked and worked in much of the same way ebooks are changing how books look and work today. Flipping through pages in a codex to find a certain piece of information was certainly easier than having to roll through an entire scroll. Looking for a piece of information in an ebook by typing a few words into the search bar is easier than flipping through the list of pages giving in an index. And that’s assuming the book even has an index.

After thinking things over and doing a bit more research, I decided to highlight the issue and explore the tension that naturally occurs whenever technology changes are made by writing a cozy mystery series. I started to ask myself what a librarian who has an emotional attachment to printed books might do if her library was converted to a bookless library. The answer was simple. She’d save the books! That’s how the Beloved Bookroom Mystery series was born.

My heroine, Trudell Becket is an assistant library in the small town of Cypress, South Carolina. The town leaders, hoping to attract high-tech jobs to their town, decide to convert the library to a high-tech bookless library. Trudell is horrified by the idea. The books on the shelves are her friends. She sneaks into the library one night and takes many of the books that are boxed up to be removed from the library. She then opens a secret bookroom in the library’s basement. While she’s working in the basement library, someone kills the town manager, who is the driving force behind the library’s modernization. Tru cannot tell the police her whereabouts at the time of his death because she doesn’t want to reveal the work she’s been doing in the basement. At the same time, she feels compelled to help the police and make sure her library stays a safe space for everyone. That is why she and her friends decide to investigate on their own. That’s the start of the series and the opening of The Broken Spine, the first book in the mystery series.

In the second book, A Perfect Bind, a man is killed the basement door that leads to her secret bookroom. Is this murder linked to the recent break ins to her secret bookroom? Tru hopes not! She investigates with the hopes to prove to herself and to her friends that the murder and the break ins aren’t related. Because if they are, she’ll have to tell the police about the secret bookroom that shouldn’t exist and risk losing her precious printed books.

Tru is a book warrior. She’s determined to protect the books she loves.

Luckily, we’re not called to do the same. For now, most libraries will remain filled with print editions of books. Thank goodness! But one day those books might become as obsolete as the ancient scroll.

So, let’s cherish the printed hold-in-your-hands books at the libraries for as long as we can. While at the same time, we can celebrate that there are also ebooks, audiobooks, and graphic novels for readers who love those too. Let’s love them all.

***

Описание задания[править | править код]

Read the text once very attentively and complete the sentences after it with the appropriate variants.

The Printed Word[править | править код]

The earliest books were written on tablets of wood or pieces of bark. In Greece and Rome the tablets of wood were covered with wax, and writing was impressed upon them with a small stick called «stylus». These tablets were held together on one side with thin strips of leather or metal rings. In Assyria and Babylonia clay tablets were used for writing, and the words were drawn with a piece of wood. After baking the tablets were kept on shelves just like books are kept today. Although the clay tablets didn’t look very beautiful, they were long-lasting and some of them survived until the present day. The earliest books of the ancient world were written on papyrus and skins of young animals. These books took the form of a long strip rolled from one cylinder to another. These writings were known to the Romans as uolumen from which comes the word volume. Though paper has been known in China since the first century, the secret of papermaking came to Europe much later.

Books were quite common in ancient Rome: we know that there were many booksellers and the first public library was founded there about 39 B.C. Only the rich could buy books or make their slaves copy books from important libraries. By the time of the Middle Ages all books were handwritten and often beautifully decorated. Libraries used to chain books to the shelves so that they could not be removed from the building. But very few people could read them. The invention of printing was a really great event in history. The first people to invent printing were the Chinese. In Europe there were several people who can be called inventors of printing. The best-known is Johann Gutenberg from Germany.

Printing spread quickly over Europe and by the end of the 15th century there were more than 200 presses. The early printers were not only craftsmen, but also editors, publishers and booksellers. The first printing press in England was set up by William Caxton at Westminster in 1476, and the first printing press in Russia — by Ivan Fedorov in Moscow in 1564. Printed books soon reached a very high standard and the craftsmen were rightfully proud of their work. Eventually there were more and more people in Europe who could read and they wanted more and more books. That led to opening more libraries.

Early libraries were used only by scientists and were few. By and by they grew in number and began to be used by the public. The 19th century saw the appearance of a proper system of public libraries. Now most countries have their own national libraries. Many old university libraries have rich collections of books: Oxford and Cambridge in England, Harvard and Yale Lierl in the United States. Among the great libraries of the world we can name the British Museum Library (the British Library) in London, the Library of Congress in the United States, the Beijing Library in China, the State Public Library in Moscow, Bibliotheque Nationale in France. The world’s largest is the US Library of Congress. It holds about 90 million items — books and manuscripts. The library was founded in 1800 in Washington, DC for the use of Congress and later became a public library. Bibliotheque Nationale dates back to the 17th century and he British Museum Library was set in the 18th century. The State Public Library in Moscow was founded in 1862 and has unique collections of books.

Modern libraries do their best to help people get information as quickly as possible. They use computers and electronic catalogues. Probably the most difficult problem for any library is to keep their books, journals and films. How they do it is a new story.

Задания к тексту[править | править код]

1. In ancient Rome people used to sell books
a) people used to sell books
b) rich people founded public libraries
c) a lot of people were able to read books in the libraries
d) slaves were not allowed to touch books
2. The US Library of Congress is as big as the British Museum Library
a) has only printed editions
b) is as big as the British Museum Library
c) is the oldest of all famous public libraries
d) is used not only by American congressmen

Перевод задания[править | править код]

Книгопечатание[править | править код]

Самые ранние книги были написаны на табличках из дерева или кусочках коры. В Греции и Риме деревянные таблички были покрыты воском, и на них выдавливали небольшой палочкой под названием «стилус». Эти таблички удерживались вместе на одной стороне с помощью тонких полосок кожаных или металлических колец. В Ассирии и Вавилонии глиняные таблички использовались для письма, а слова были выдавлены куском дерева. После выпечки таблетки хранились на полках, как книги сегодня. Хотя глиняные таблички выглядели не очень красиво, они были долговечны, и некоторые из них сохранились до наших дней. Самые ранние книги древнего мира были написаны на папирусе и шкурах молодых животных. Эти книги приняли форму длинной полосы, катящейся от одного цилиндра к другому. Эти писания были известны римлянам как свитки, из которого происходит слово объем. Хотя бумага была известна в Китае с первого столетия, секрет производства бумаги пришел в Европу гораздо позже.

Книги были довольно распространены в Древнем Риме: мы знаем, что было много продавцов книг, и первая публичная библиотека была основана там около 39 г. до нашей эры. Только богатые люди могли покупать книги или заставлять своих рабов копировать книги из важных библиотек. Ко времени средневековья все книги были написаны от руки и часто красиво украшены. Библиотеки приковывали книги к полкам, чтобы их нельзя было убрать из здания. Но мало кто мог прочитать их. Изобретение печати было действительно великим событием в истории. Первыми, кто изобрел печать, были китайцы. В Европе было несколько человек, которых можно назвать изобретателями печати. Самый известный — Иоганн Гутенберг из Германии.

Печать быстро распространилась по Европе, и к концу 15-го века было более 200 печатных машин. Первые печатники были не только мастерами, но и редакторами, издателями и продавцами книг. Первая печатная машина в Англии была создана Уильямом Кэкстоном в Вестминстере в 1476 году, а первая печатная машина в России — Иваном Федоровым в Москве в 1564 году. Печатные книги вскоре достигли очень высоких стандартов, и мастера по праву гордились своей работой. В конце концов, в Европе появлялось все больше и больше людей, которые могли читать, и они хотели все больше и больше книг. Это привело к открытию большего количества библиотек.

Ранние библиотеки использовались только учеными и были немногочисленными. Постепенно их стало больше и они стали использоваться обществом. В 19 веке появилась надлежащая система общественных библиотек. Сейчас в большинстве стран есть свои национальные библиотеки. Многие старые университетские библиотеки имеют богатые коллекции книг: Оксфорд и Кембридж в Англии, Гарвард и Йельский университет в Соединенных Штатах. Среди великих мировых библиотек можно назвать Британскую музейную библиотеку в Лондоне, Библиотеку Конгресса США, Пекинскую библиотеку в Китае, Государственную публичную библиотеку в Москве, Национальную библиотеку во Франции. Самой большой в мире является Библиотека Конгресса США. В нем хранится около 90 миллионов предметов — книги и рукописи. Библиотека была основана в 1800 году в Вашингтоне, округ Колумбия, для использования Конгрессом, а затем стала публичной библиотекой. Национальная библиотека датируется 17 веком, а Британская музейная библиотека была основана в 18 веке. Государственная публичная библиотека в Москве была основана в 1862 году и имеет уникальные коллекции книг.

Современные библиотеки делают все возможное, чтобы помочь людям получить информацию как можно быстрее. Они пользуются компьютерами и электронными технологиями. Наверное, самая трудная задача для любой библиотеки-сохранить свои книги, журналы и фильмы. Как они это делают-это новая история.

Вопросы к тексту[править | править код]

1. В древнем Риме люди продавали книги
а) люди продавали книги
б) богатые люди основали публичные библиотеки
в) многие люди могли читать книги в библиотеках
г) рабам не разрешали трогать книги
2. Библиотека Конгресса США такая же большая, как Библиотека Британского музея.
а) имеет только печатные издания
б) такая же большая, как Библиотека Британского музея
в) является старейшей из всех известных публичных библиотек
г) используется не только американскими конгрессменами

Другие задания учебника учебника[править | править код]

In The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown’s hero, the academic Robert Langdon, unearths the truth behind the Holy Grail, and in Angels and Demons he exposes a secret religious society. Now, with the third book in the series, Brown himself is poised to save the ailing publishing industry, pushing the business into an electronic era.

His new novel, The Lost Symbol, is out on 15 September and has a print run of six and a half million and one of the largest orders in the history of publishing. Another thriller with mystic overtones, its plot has been worked on by Brown over five years with a secrecy equalled only by the marketing team orchestrating its launch.

Last week, as the title arrived at number four on Amazon’s bestseller chart, Brown’s American publishers, Knopf DoubleDay, announced that an ebook of the title, to be downloaded and read on screen, will be released simultaneously. With more than 81m copies of The Da Vinci Code sold across the world, industry hopes for the transformative power of this new title may be justified.

«Even more than J K Rowling’s Harry Potter titles, Dan Brown has shown that a book can become genuinely mass market and this helped keep supermarkets’ interest and helped publishers develop their methods, especially online,» said Joel Rickett, editorial director of Penguin’s Viking Books.

«The Da Vinci Code kept changing what was expected of the readership. People would think everyone who was ever going to buy that book had already bought it and then, the next week, 20,000 more would sell, and another 30,000 after that.»

Rickett said he published an ebook simultaneously with all his titles and that this was linked to new online marketing strategies. «Books are getting much better at using the internet to create excitement, like films do,» he said. This summer Rickett has watched online interest in Viking Books’ sequel to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Eoin Colfer, translate into heavy orders for the book well before its publication.

The technology that allows readers to read books on a handheld screen is improving just at the moment Brown’s The Lost Symbol hits the streets. For Rickett, the possibilities, including books with scored soundtracks and video inserts, are just becoming clear.

«The ebook is very quickly becoming a publishing reality and The Lost Symbol will be one of the fastest-selling books of recent times,» he said. «Once people can flip between books, look up references online and switch to an audio reading, everything will change very quickly.»

While the arrival of the versatile Kindle ebook reader is still awaited in Britain, Sony Readers are gaining in popularity and with the imminent launch of the Apple Tablet, Rickett predicts a surge in sales. «Apple have a huge knack of coming up with gadgets that are nice to use, as well as effective. So far, there is nothing that is as pleasurable as reading print. Part of it will be the way it works and part will be the way it looks,» he said.

Literary agent Karolina Sutton is already halfway there. «I love my [Sony] reader,» she said. «But it does feel like a prototype. Like any new technology it has its limitations. It’s not fun to run out of power as the protagonist is about to reveal a deadly secret.»

Some American authors, particular in the crime and the business genres, already sell a third of their copies as ebooks. But, although the new Brown title will be a huge publicity boost for the ebook, the industry knows that by far the biggest readership will be on paper.

Will this translate into wider sales for other printed books? «Pretty soon, rival book stores will start discounting editions to draw people in. It can’t help but rub off to some degree,» said Rickett.