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Al-Ahram Weekly 23 - 29 March 2000 Issue No. 474 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 23 - 29 March 2000 Issue No. 474
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Plain Talk
By Mursi Saad El-Din
The 10 March was World Book Day, designated by UNESCO as a celebration of books and reading. Unfortunately the day passed unnoticed in Egypt, though many countries initiated, on that occasion, projects to help children explore the pleasure of reading by providing them with access to books.
In England, for example, every school child received a World Book Day Token which can be used in participating bookshops to get a reduction on the price of books. Last year schools in the UK and Ireland raised over 500,000 pounds to help Book Aid International, the charity organisation which supplies over 700,000 books a year to developing countries.
It seems that the book is holding on in the face of fierce competition from the Internet. This does not mean, however, that there are no threats from technology.
The Oxford English Dictionary went onto the Web on 13 March. The next printed edition is scheduled to appear in 10 years. One wonders, though, whether the massive enterprise -- it is 40 huge volumes after all -- will actually appear in a decade's time, or whether it will prove easier to update this standard reference in cyberspace.
The published dictionary, whose last multi-volume edition, in 1989, cost 1,800 pounds and weighed more than 60 kg -- will be available to those wanting full on-line access -- for less than a quarter of the published price.
The Royal Shakespeare Company, too, wants to use the Internet to "build on the new audiences that have come to Shakespeare as a result of films like Romeo and Juliet and Shakespeare in Love," writes David Lister of the Independent.
I have mentioned these two events as an example of efforts to win over readers. But can this succeed? Can the Internet replace the book? Of course, when it comes to reference books, such as the Oxford English Dictionaries and encyclopedias, it can. But when it comes to literature, novels, poems and short stories, it is an up hill effort.
According to Andrew Rosenheim there are two reasons why "no one in their right mind has preferred reading on screen to the printed page." There are many reasons for this, he believes, the lack of truly portable computers being only one of them. But within the next five years, expostulates Rosenheim, we can safely expect that many people will own "one small, lightweight device combining the function of phone, fax, personal computer and organiser."
Propagators of the electronic book have resorted to a number of "tricks" to lure readers away from the printed book. They have experimented with the creation of a "book like" feeling by mimicking the act of turning a page. They have also introduced authors' reading passages from their works, and interviews with them about the creation of their works.
Yet books themselves remain the centre of attention. Britain's Department of Culture recently increased the budget earmarked for library services, and the Society of Chief Librarians has launched a project aimed at, among other things, the promotion of foreign literatures translated into English. This is a golden chance for us to try and get our translated works included in the project.
An issue which is discussed in England and which is applicable to us is the role of the librarian. It is estimated that 75 per cent of library users in England do not know what they are looking for when they come in. The world of books is vast and labyrinthine and here the librarian should assist. This is a problem we face in Egypt, where we desperately need a library staff training programme concentrating less on techniques and different systems and more on a general understanding and knowledge of books. There is no doubt that librarians should possess wide cultural interests and know what is new in the publishing world.
