Taiwan Panorama explored the future of print and electronic publishing in our June 2010 issue. We found that e-books were not only replacing paper, but were also forcing a reconceptualization of publishing and a rewriting of publishing processes. But our report also revealed that while users of the new technology loved the portability of e-books, the publishing industry still had questions about digital distribution methods and copy protection, not to mention the profit model.
When Taiwan Panorama spoke to Chen Ying-ching, head of Owl Publishing House, he told us: “Reader demand hasn’t disappeared; it’s just being satisfied in more efficient ways.” As Wang Jung-wen, chairman of Louis Cha’s Taiwan publisher Yuan-Liou Publishing, put it, “The publishing industry is transforming in order to survive.” Our piece made it clear that the revolution in traditional publishing was well underway.
The publishing industry has always aimed to put books in the hands of readers, whether traditional or digital. But readers who prefer e-books should be sure to pack a charger along with their “desert island books.”
Lightweight e-book readers make an entire library’s worth of books portable, a fact that has rattled the publishing industry and kickstarted a reading revolution.
Lightweight e-book readers make an entire library’s worth of books portable, a fact that has rattled the publishing industry and kickstarted a reading revolution.
Lightweight e-book readers make an entire library’s worth of books portable, a fact that has rattled the publishing industry and kickstarted a reading revolution.