Invasion of the e-Book

I've been reading a lot lately about the explosion of the e-book. New York Times published an article recently proclaiming that Amazon sold more e-books than actual books by an almost 2 to 1 margin for the month of June (and almost 1.5 to 1 over the last three months). Prior to that, Publishers Weekly reported that e-book sales rose by 250% in the first quarter of this year. Not hard to do with the introduction of the iPad, Nook, and continued push for the Kindle. 


Barnes and Noble announced that, over the next five years, it will move from "a bookseller to an electronic and technology retailer," predicting that their in-store "unit" sales will decline by 21% over then next four years. B&N said it "will close no more than six to 10 stores annually over the next three years as leases expire," pointing people, more and more, to their Web site for purchases.  


Apple announced that, as of June, its iPad had cornered 22% of the e-book market (an amazing feat, since it is not a stand-alone e-reader). Almost weekly, a new publisher announces that they too will be producing e-books, and book fairs, once reserved for the printed page, are starting to create e-book sections.  


It was once thought that people who buy e-books, also buy "p-books" (printed books), but it's looking like that isn't necessarily the case. Just as CDs replaced LPs, and MP3s are replacing CDs - so too, it looks as if e-books might diminish, if not completely replace, the printed book.


As Barnes and Noble has pointed out, this will not be an immediate change, but we're looking at a drastic change in the publishing landscape over the next 5 to 10 years.


What does this mean for book collectors?  Well, to those who love books, those books on your p-shelf (physical shelf) will become rare objects with ever greater value.

Labels: , , , , , , , , ,