Any hope for books in the digital age?

The decline in patronising books in Nigeria began in the early 80s with the proliferation of TVs and video players.  Many believe it began with the increasing poverty that left many scavenging for daily bread with hardly any money or time left to be invested in books. Before then it was not uncommon to see […]

The decline in patronising books in Nigeria began in the early 80s with the proliferation of TVs and video players.  Many believe it began with the increasing poverty that left many scavenging for daily bread with hardly any money or time left to be invested in books.

Before then it was not uncommon to see young men and women carrying books in their pockets and purses, sitting under trees or just anywhere else and perusing.

Thousands who grew up reading the African Writers Series and Pace Setters and even Mills & Boons, not to mention other educational books have gradually abandoned them to pursue interests in movie watching and more recently surfing and chatting on the net.

Perhaps the internet is the greatest challenge that has faced conventional books. The decline in the reading culture may just be paving the way for the extinction of books. Libraries are closing down and being replaced by internet cafes. The case of the famous British Council Libraries in Nigeria amply demonstrates this.  

The British council decided to phase out its libraries in Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Enugu and replace them with “Knowledge and Development Centres.” The bookshelves are gone, the books were labelled and auctioned and the rooms are now lined with computers.

This development did not go down well with many book enthusiasts. One of them is Felix Abraham Obi, a poet, physiotherapist and photographer.

“We should brace up for dark years ahead since our ‘future leaders’ have been systematically made to disdain and disparage books and the acquisition of knowledge that will challenge and open their minds,” Obi wrote in an article lamenting the closure of the libraries.

The ‘future leaders’ may actually suffer the most. Video games, internet cafes and the need to scrounge for a living quite early in life makes books almost the last thing on their minds. Many have blamed this for the phenomenal 98% failure rate in the recently released NECO results.

Publishers are trying to cash in on the internet rush. Online magazines are springing up. There are e-books and audio books available for download free. Most educational books are now accompanied by soft copies in form of CDs. The development of Kindle, an electronic device from which one can read downloaded e-books has made this new book form more popular for those who still find time to read.

Online magazines and journals are gaining in popularity. About five thousand users visited an online magazine within the first months of its being floated. Richard Ali is the administrator of the magazine, the Sentinel Literary Magazine.

“The advantage of the electronic media is that it is very, very cheap. You can easily get it across to people,” he said. “Poeple can easily subscribe to it. And you can easily publish it with the click of a button.”

In actual book publishing, the procedure is longer and more difficult and getting the books to people around the world is a challenge in itself. But in a country like Nigeria where internet connection is not stable and access to it is not total, coupled with infrequent power supply, conventional books seem the better option. This is the view of Dr. Jerry Agada, President of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA).

“When we are talking books we are talking about what you can take into every nook and cranny no matter the paucity of electricity,” he said. He is optimistic that books in their physical forms are irreplaceable because books are “something that can be with you in all circumstances and they are good for record purposes.”

But with the development of Kindle which one can easily carry in his pocket, books in their traditional form may have lost that advantage of portability.

Does this make the future for books bleak?

Despite his commitment to online magazines, Mr. Ali does not think so. “I think books will be very, very much around. I personally prefer a book I can touch. I see a future in print on demand books,” he said optimistically. He believes the internet is just a conduit to get books across to people, not an end in itself. “What happens is that those who read online journals is that they print them out and read them. Very few people actually read online,” he added.

For an optimist like Dr. Agada, who may not be considered a regular digital age fellow, books will always exist.  “Publishing in book form will continue to exist,” he said doggedly.

For the younger Richard Ali, he thinks “there can be a marriage. I don’t see any opposition between the two media.”

But not many may share his optimism with libraries being phased out. Only a few years back, letter writing was a thriving art. Many young men successfully wooed women by the eloquence of their letters. Now, with mobile phones, not many young ones have ever written a letter. It is now a dying art.

Nevertheless, one only hopes that in the next century, books will not be forlorn relics looking back at us from behind museums’ glass casings.