E-readers and access to books online concerns some of the publishing houses because it means that fewer people are purchasing print books. While some people are of the opinion that print books are no longer an interest for many, this is probably not realistic. There will always be people who want to read books that are printed on paper and that they can hold in their hands. Books have a certain romance to them for dedicated readers, and not everyone has access to computers. E-readers are also not affordable for many people and they also may not want to handle the learning curve of learning a new piece of electronic equipment. This reality quickly puts the decrease of print books into perspective.
However, it is true that the Internet has changed the print world. There are fewer books being published and distributed, and a lot of smaller publishing houses have felt the economic financial crunch and closed their businesses due to the decrease in sales. Unfortunately, many authors have also been affected as a result and will never get to enjoy their books being in circulation and the income residuals from having it published. The print world has also been affected with magazines and newspapers since a lot of that material is now accessible online.
While the Internet doesn’t foretell the demise of print publications, it certainly does mean a change for them. They’ll never be the same as they were, but the World Wide Web makes many more avenues available for those who have a love for books and reading. One thing that the Internet has provided is the chance to collect books that might not have been easily found otherwise. In that way, the Internet and print books can work very well together. For the serious book collector who’s looking for something rare and/or out-of-print, the Internet can be an extremely valuable tool.