Publishers say e-books no threat to regular ones
New Delhi, January
9:
The numbers of people listening to audio books, or those
switching on a Kindle might be on the rise, but a strong tribe of readers who
still like to hold a book, and sift through pages, continues to flourish.
As many readers and publishers wonder about the future of
books with the advent of e-books, publishers at the New Delhi World Book Fair
are not just confident but are also encouraged by the number of book lovers
thronging the Pragati Maidan grounds here.
According to them, e-books and books cater to different
markets and despite the growing number of e-book readers, the older medium is
still growing strong.
Just another medium
“When e-books came into the market, publishers were
worried about the future of books and about finding buyers. But, with time, we
realised it’s just another medium and it has also helped us,” Arun Maheshwari
of Vani Prakashan told PTI.
He said that e-books, audio books, hardbound or paperback
all are distinct from each other and all of those have their own markets.
Ashok Maheshwari of Rajkamal Prakashan said that people
are still writing books because there is a continuous demand. Despite new
mediums coming up, the old media retain their space, the sale does not get
affected by it, he said.
No competition
“The era of
e-books and audio books will create its own space and market. If somebody is
walking or is in a hurry, they would want to listen to an audio book or read an
e-book.
And when
they want to read at leisure, they would switch to a book. There is no
competition between the two,” Ashok said.
According to
Baldev Bhai Sharma, Chairman of National Book Trust, NBT sold 12 lakh books in
the last one year. He said that it was more important that people read, not
what medium they choose to read on.
The book
fair concludes on January 14.
Regards
Prof. Pralhad Jadhav
Master of Library & Information Science (NET
Qualified)
Senior Manager @ Knowledge Repository
Khaitan & Co
Twitter Handle | @Pralhad161978
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