The book is, at least from my point of view, one of the greatest inventions that humanity has made. Thanks to the book, all of us can share ideas, feelings, stories. Thanks to the book, we can know about our past, we can know about our present, we can imagine our future.
Likewise, writing has shaped the world and the culture in which we live. It has increased the number of chronicles, poems, fable, and has miraculously extended the space of its duration.
In many ways oral literature survives, but written literature is more vigorous, more easily enduring and more easily transmitted. Oral literature is a literature that does not fully exist until it has been placed in the hands of the reader in written form.
Bringing literary works to readers is, at this time and with the rise of electronic formats, a simpler task than what was supposed to be done in the last century; however, it is necessary to arouse the interest of the public, of a public that perceives the world in a different way.
In this long road of the cultural history of Latin America from the 16th century to the present day, the role of the book has been a fundamental pillar in the educational development and dissemination of knowledge. Even more so if we add the industrial production that started in Mexico around the 1920s, and where a productive chain is built that marks the progress of the Mexican publishing industry.
From many perspectives, the evolutionary process of the publishing industry goes hand in hand with cultural progress, but also with economic, political and social performance. The threads of the history of our region are tied to the pages of books and magazines that have given an account of the future of Latin America.
The book and magazine production chain involves branches as diverse as the graphic arts, the paper industry, the production of chemicals and supplies, etc.; all working so that the reader has in their hands a product in accordance with their cultural, knowledge or entertainment needs.
The rise of social networks has driven the digitization of educational materials by large publishers, but the pandemic has been the cause of locking ourselves in our homes and avoiding physical contact for almost two years, and this has given a significant turn to all cultural industries around the world.
Digitization has reached us, those of us who had only heard of applications and software to meet with our remote work teams, have experienced a revolution and had to use them and be “experts” in a matter of days. The pandemic accelerated processes for the use of new technologies that under normal conditions would have taken us years.
In the publishing sector, digital books had a higher growth compared to the same periods of past years, although this had been happening naturally, however, the book-object in its printed format is the one that offers us not only the opportunity of sniffing ink on paper, but also the opportunity to experience that almost magical connection between neurons that cannot be experienced in the same way with an electronic book. It has been shown that the act of reading produces new neural connections, which increases our intellectual capacity. And, of course, in addition to the fact that the pandemic has brought us to a virtual state in all aspects of daily life, I think that it has also made us reflect on the opportunity that we once had to visit bookstores and libraries, as well as to have contact real with the people beyond the walls of our room.
The publishing industry, like almost all industries, has been severely affected in these two years, however, let’s consider this as an opportunity. A breaking point that leads us to new beginnings, with new energy, with more understanding of human behavior and knowledge of the reading needs of those around us. Of those who will trace the lines and new paths of the future.
Twitter: @plumavertical
