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“We experience a world of ever-expanding websites, CD-ROMs and other digital electronic media led by the developed industrial nations today. What will become of the paper-printed media of books in relation to the rapid evolution of this new media?

Much has been discussed about digital media in the context of multimedia and its interactive features, but not in relationship to carrying printed words and characters. If they were discussed at all, a negative outlook has been very pervasive. Is there any way we can expect a positive effect of the new media on books?

Can books only exist in the paper-printed media? Can the text be separated from paper to be reused as a book through digital media? Is such a discussion relevant to the subject of books?

What is the future of the book? This round table discussion [from the August 1998 premiere issue of The Book and the Computer: The Future of the Printed Word] invites participants from countries of different histories and cultures—Japan, France, China, Thailand and America—each facing different issues on books (such as shortage of paper, distribution, penetration of audiovisual media, literacy, etc.) to discuss the new form this durable medium may take.”

Participants:

• The Transformation of Written Culture
  Roger Chartier (France)


• Electronic Books and Reading
  Liu Zhiming (China)


• The New Online Book Community
  Howard Rheingold (USA)


• Text Makes a Comeback: The Power of Words
  Ueno Chizuko (Japan)


• The Oral Tradition in the Digital Age
  Thanes Wongyannava (Thailand) < / < /li