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BOOKSHELVES EVOLVE FOR THE POST-BOOK ERA
Are e-books making bookshelves obsolete along with books themselves? This article notes the changing design of bookshelves for the mass market.
-Editor
This isn't quite the canary in the coal mine – think of it as a slight tickle in the mine foreman's throat – but all signs are pointing to the end of the physical book. There are plenty of analogs to this situation. When's the last time you saw a casette tape rack sold outside of Odd Lots? What about the formal "stereo cabinet" with plenty of room for records? What about Virgin Megastores? As much as it pains me to say this and as horrible as it sounds, the book is leaving us. The Economist writes: Next month IKEA will introduce a new, deeper version of its ubiquitous "BILLY" bookcase. The flat-pack furniture giant is already promoting glass doors for its bookshelves. The firm reckons customers will increasingly use them for ornaments, tchotchkes and the odd coffee-table tome—anything, that is, except books that are actually read. Will bookstores disappear? I think so. With the rise of popular fiction appearing on e-readers, I think the paperback will be the first to go and all that will be left is the "curio" hardback. Then I look forward to a half decade of the publishing industry scrambling to stem piracy and flail wildly at consumers, then hardware manufacturers, then finally settle into the long-fall doldrums the music industry is now facing.
So if the mass market moves away from the traditional bookshelf, what does that mean for people who collect books? Will shelving become much more expensive? A custom-build proposition? Hopefully that day is still a long way off. Meanwhile, I noticed at the Border's Books going-out-of-business sale last week that store shelving was for sale at three units for $100, already assembled.
-Editor
To read the complete article, see:
The End Of Books: Ikea Is Changing Shelves To Reflect Changing Demand
(techcrunch.com/2011/09/09/death-of-books/)
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