The printed word remains important in this new millennium... at least so far

As a writer, I have found the first quarter of 2017 very gratifying.  The three books that have produced royalties for me for nigh on 30 years continue to do well.  These are:

1.  The Employment Law Answer Book (Wolters Kluwer 9th edition)

2.  Employment and Labor Law (Cengage 9th edition)

3.  Termination of Employment (Thomson Reuters)

Equalling gratifying is news today from Inside Higher Ed that the University of Arizona, riding the fifth wave with it aggressive online programming, is investing $100 million in its --- are you ready? --- libraries!

According to the story, "The university later this year plans to close the Hayden Library on its Tempe campus for a two-year renovation.  At the same time, the university will continue to work on expanding the library resources and services available to its 26,000 degree-seeking online students and the hundreds of thousands more taking at least one course online from the university."

The story adds, "Many other universities are reorganizing their libraries as they see an increase in the use of electronic resources and demand for cafes, multimedia classrooms, maker spaces, writing centers and other spaces for teaching, learning and research."

But, wait, you say.  Doesn't this sound like fewer books, not more?  The Moore's Law of new media says that new media ofttimes spawn greater use of old media.  Sadly that doesn't seem to be true for daily newspapers, which have generally been unsuccessfull in adapting their product to the Internet.

Or isn't it?  The New York Times now Tweets its headlines to 9.5 million followers.  And dailies, across the totality of all their platforms, now have more readers than ever.  Small local weeklies also enjoy prosperity today.  For example, The New of Delaware County, my weekly paper, is the only outlet from which I can learn what's happening with my school district, my police department, my town council.

As for the book, it too is riding the fifth wave successfully.  In addition to hard and soft cover editions, there are electronic versions that can be downloaded and audio versions on CD and the Internet.  Self publishing is coming into its own as well.

My book #2, above, is a textbook.  I thought sales would decline, even evaporate, in the new century.  But my royalties are better than ever.

Here's one avid reader's answer to the question, "why do books still exist?"  I'll let her speak for herself.