03.20
You can?t stop the future.?
A minority of book publishers have started making serious moves towards online content, in parallel with traditional print distribution. Total Cardboard, for example, has established an ?Online Reading Room?, where many of their publications are available in full as web pages. Asked if he is afraid that people will not buy their books when they can read them free online, Mansfield says ?No, not really. Physical books still have something special to offer that will never be superseded by the internet, as far as I can see. We just see the Online Reading Room as a way for more people to be able to read our publications. If anything, I think it might increase sales, by increasing exposure.?
With the world wide web still evolving faster than anyone could hope to predict, only time will tell if Mansfield?s confidence comes from foresight or imprudence. In any case, publishers will have to start facing up to online content soon, if Google are to be prevented from gaining an insurmountable advantage in the distribution of digital literature.
The Total Cardboard Online Reading Room can be viewed at www.totalcardboard.com.
Tony Macaroni is a freelance writer..
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