Final Exam-Summer 2012

First search: Distad, M. (2011). The Future of Print: The Book. Feliciter, 57(5), 182-184

This took me a fare amount of time to locate, maybe I was just confused but I did finally find the article in EBSCOhost, through the Clark library. I was trying to find it through google with no luck. I had to search the title and browse through to find it.

A)     Authority: I found that her was part of the Research & Special Collections Services at the University of Alberta. Contact info: merrill.distad@ualberta.ca 780.492.1429 and is on leave until September 1, 2012

S)    Source: Associate University Librarian and EBSCOhost

P)    Purpose: News and to inform

E)    Evenness: Facts and presentation was in order

C)    Coverage: Most of his points were covers and seem to be factual

T)    Timeline: it’s fairly current and published in October, 2011

Second search: Morrison, E. (2011, August 22). Are books dead, and can authors survive? The Guardian.

I went to google for the second search item and the very first hit that appeared was The Guardian. No modification to the search material that was provided.

A)     Authority: He’s published 3 novels

S)    Source:  The Guardian, a daily newspaper in Britain and he’s all over the internet

P)    Purpose: News and to inform

E)    Evenness: Is arguments weren’t very even and he was touching on a subject that has been debated for a long time

C)    Coverage: He covered most of the arguments and the concerns

T)    Timeline: The article was published in August of 2011

I like reading the article “Are books dead, and can authors survive?”. Morrison understandably has a valid point with his concerns. But this is an all too familiar concern for many industries and professions.

Morrison goes on to explain the affects of the amateur online authors, publishers and accessibility of the internet. This of course will put a dent in a person’s wallet if they become comfortable with their situation. I’m a firm believer that if you don’t evolve with the world and it’s technologies or you don’t stay updated with what your audience is wanting then you’ll very quickly get left behind. I understand that this is something the writers and publishers are not in control of but they are in control how they approach the future.

Reading through this article reminded me of a research paper I wrote up, based on the book written by Nicholas Carr “Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet is doing to our brains"? It was all about an opinion and a concern the writer had because of the lack of book sales. Honestly though, because of my background and training in commercial sales I’m always aware and recognize competition. It’s a valuable lesson.

These articles, when you boil them down are all about money and the lack of sales. I’m by far no expert but I’m a critic these types of subjects. When you’re in the business of supplying end-users products or entertainment, it is a must to know what your audience wants and modify your strategy to be recognized by his audience. For instance: Carr, the writer of ““Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet is doing to our brains"?  went out and publicly blamed Google for the decline in book sales and mental development in the human brain. Although I don’t agree with the author but it was a great way to be recognize and to generate sales.

I’m probably completely off the subject of this assignment but it just how I feel about these types of articles.