Has the Death of Printed Books Been Exaggerated?

I have written many times about the declining sales of printed books and the growing sales of ebooks. I expect printed books to almost disappear within a few years. A few specialty publishers may remain but most will convert to e-publishing. Now, writer Nicholas Carr has examined statistics about the sales of ebooks versus printed books and makes a case stating the opposite: he believes printed books will remain with us for a long, long time.

I have to disagree with Nicholas Carr but will admit that his article at http://www.roughtype.com/?p=2296 makes interesting reading as a contrarian view. He quotes statistics from a Pew study (at http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2012/12/27/e-book-reading-jumps-print-book-reading-declines/) on Americans’ reading habits. He generally ignores the main points of the study and focuses on a few details that seem to support his case. I still agree with the main points of the Pew study. Nonetheless, Nicholas Carr's article provides interesting reading.

I suspect that the economics of publishing books on paper will eventually mean the end of paper-based genealogy books, as well as all sorts of other books, magazines and newspapers. A printed book costs a lot more to publish than an e-book. E-books, magazines, and newspapers can be delivered via electronic means instantly, at far less expense, than their printed counterparts. I believe consumers and publishers alike will appreciate the savings and convenience available when publishing electronically.

In the past few weeks, I have purchased six books, all of them e-books and all delivered to my tablet computer within seconds. I haven't purchased any printed books in a long, long time. I suspect I am not alone.