Devaluing books.

I have noticed that on PBS's Antiques Roadshow, two things that people often think will be valuable but aren't are old toys and old books. Even when a toy (in the original box!) is valued well, a revisit to an old episode with updated pricing usually shows a drop. For a book to be valuable it needs to be a first edition, of some historical interest, in perfect condition, with dust jacket (if applicable), and so on and so forth, and maybe it's a couple of hundred dollars.  

My concern isn't for the monetary value of books at the moment, though, but of their value in our culture.

Old Joke: How do you break a nerd's finger? Slam his book on his nose.

Before computers took over the world, books had a place of honor in the culture, a value that is lost now. I don't think those of us old enough to remember the pre-Internet days appreciate that. Before computer storage was common, books were the cheapest means of storing any kind of data. And before photography and phonography, putting things down on paper or the like was the only means of storing data. Printing was the only means of reproducing it for distribution.

For centuries books represented the depository of all human knowledge and wisdom. They commanded a respect that I think young people can only imagine. True, people who lived their lives in books, for research, writing, library science, and whatnot, could be teased as bookish or bookworms, but the respect engendered by books and what they meant usually rendered the teasing light.

All of a sudden, slowly when computer data storage began, then suddenly as the Internet blossomed into businesses and homes, books lost their place as the repository of all human knowledge. It happened so fast that we still haven't recovered from the cultural whiplash. 

In a historical trice, a whole category of books was wiped out. Print encyclopedias, trivia books, the full-length Guinness Book of World Records, sports data books, map books, all sorts of general knowledge books vanished or became shadows of their former selves. The Internet was faster, free, and with the smartphone, could fit in your pocket. Sites were never out of date because they could be updated to the current minute. Even if the information was wrong, it was good enough for most readers. And it's not like the old books were always 100% on the money, either. 

Books still have place in our culture anymore; it's just that their prestige has mostly gone. When everything is data, books are just more files to download. 

I think the main loss at this point is historical. Book lovers for the most part had a good sense of history and the continuity of human nature, because the minds of those in the past were still alive in their books. Today, dusty old books have as much respect from those who grew up the Internet as do dusty old Web sites. The Internet has led them to live in the eternal now. The idea of browsing in a used-book store for old forgotten treasures makes as much sense to them as buying old food. Most of those shops are long gone now, anyway.

No wonder these idiots rampage in the streets. Why would they have respect for our culture, our history? Nothing matters or even exists but this current second.

As always, I thank the fine folks at Gutenberg, such as our friend Mongo, for helping to keep the fires of civilization lit. How long we can hope to do that, who knows? The Internet is a wonderful genie, but once it's free from the bottle, you can't control what it does.