It was only a matter of time before reference books became totally digital. The move from print to Internet was inevitable, so I stopped tracking publications that no longer use paper and ink.
Thus it was that I found out Encyclopedia Britannica will now be available only on electronic screens and in print from my colleague Scott Hollifield at the McDowell News.
It's sad in some ways, but all-digital versions of the venerable resource for most every human endeavor is the platform our children favor.
I still have my collection of Britannica's Book of the Year. I also have my 1961 set of World Book. However, the encyclopedia I valued the most was the Britannica Junior. It was for kids. Many of the entries were in story form, just right for a young inquiring mind.
The big Britannica, World Book, Compton's, Collier's and even Funk & Wagnalls – you could get them a volume at a time from selected grocers (see Scott's column in last Friday's Record) as well as the usual routes – were a tad abstruse for kids.
I encountered many households with the first two or three volumes of F&W's. We may have had the only Water to Zymol volume in the neighborhood.
Britannica Junior was like an anthology with some of the most fascinating stories written for wee readers. You got the whole tale, not just a biographical or historical sketch.
Best of all, Junior made you want to know more. The stuff in the volumes weren't for simple regurgitation to pass a test or write an essay. This was reading for recreation, not just for looking up things because you had to.
My Britannica Junior was given away many years ago to a small church library that had more children than money. It was a big hit. I like to think that those books are still doing for others what they did for me, although they must be getting battered and tattered by now.
The big Britannica went to some cousins. The Lord may know where they are now, but nobody in the family does.
I keep the yearbooks because they are snapshots of history. I hang on to the World Book encyclopedia because I have never found a recipient who wants it. It's a good encyclopedia, but the rise of online resources has placed the set in the realm of antiquities. I cannot bear to toss out a decent book.
I still buy books, mostly those that are out of print and of a historical or biographical nature. I confess I have adigital wonder that lets me preview and buy books, magazines and other publications. I like it. I still enjoy turning pages, but it's nice to be able to travel with a host of tomes in a neat package smaller than a laptop computer, complete with eye-popping illustrations.
Illustration is a big reason electronic books are replacing hardbound books and paperbacks. Printed pages have limited space for photos and graphics. I own many so-called coffee table books, but they are not easy to tote around. They are beautifully illustrated, and heavy as lead.
My little computerized reader-thingy is linked to more photos and other illustrations than I can view in a lifetime. And it has video and audio. I don't have to spend as much time with a digital version as I do with a real book – mainly because paper and ink requires the imagination to provide the illustrations. That's something I don't mind. Sometimes, my imaginary rendition of a scene or character is more satisfactory that what I see in a drawing or a movie. One of the great joys of reading without pictures is to see how my vision compares to one by an artist or actor.
When children are encouraged to hone their reading skills, they should describe what they've read and then compare what they see with the artwork that actually goes with the story. The results might be quite surprising. That little exercise also is a good measure of how well the writer tells a story. I was quite pleased to discover Tom Joad really does look a lot like Henry Fonda.
The allure of cybermedia is convenience and the abundance of illustration. Such qualities can depress or enhance the use of one's imagination. I believe reading is boring at best and immaterial at worst if imagination is not involved – if the writer does not compel visualization. That's why the Harry Potter series is great literature. No illustrations necessary. That's why that old Britannica Junior was a great teacher.
Books are fun. I will not criticize the transition from print to digital, although I know that someday new books will be passe. It's sad from my viewpoint, but whatever encourages reading is OK with me. Reading must always be a normal, not casual, part of our existence.
Larry Clark is a staff writer for the Hickory Daily Record. Reach him at lclark@hickoryrecord.com.
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