Stephen Kobrin to Speak on The Future of the Book at CrossRoads Lecture

Stephen Kobrin, next CrossRoads lecturer

Orcas CrossRoads Lecture Series will host professor and publisher, Stephen J Kobrin, who will present – Books and Bits: The Digital Revolution, Books and Publishing – on Sunday, March 18, 2 p.m. at the Orcas Center.

The digital revolution changes the way information is encoded and transmitted, dramatically affecting what a book is, how books are published and how readers acquire them. Digital communications and the internet create the possibility of more direct human interactions with the material.

Professor Kobrin will talk about the current situation and speculate about the future of both publishing and book distribution. Some of the questions he will address include:

• Is a new relationship evolving between authors and their readers as a result of the rise of the internet and the digital revolution?  Publishers have traditionally intermediated that relationship, but will they continue to do so?

• With the rising importance of web-based retailers for books (both electronic and print) and the lessened availability of bricks and mortar bookstores, it is increasingly difficult for readers to browse physical books.  How will readers discover books in the digital world and how will they evaluate their quality once they do?

• Will the traditional bookstore survive in the face of web-based competition?

• Will ebooks replace print books?  More reasonably, what will be the niche for each in the future?

Professor Kobrin is the William H. Wurster Professor of Multinational Management at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business. Since 2008 he has been the Publisher and Executive Director of the Wharton Digital Press. He is a book lover himself but has been charged with negotiating the issues faced by the Wharton School Press with publishing in the age of the information revolution.

The islands are full of book lovers and readers, so this is a topic close to our hearts. Come with your questions and thoughts for the Q & A and reception following the presentation. Tickets are $10 and available at Darvill’s Bookstore, online at www.orcascrossroads.org or at the door. Some complimentary tickets are available in advance at the Senior Center.

The final lecture of the spring series will feature Seattle University Professor of Law, David Skover, who will discuss “The First Amendment and the Internet: Current Dilemmas” on Sunday, April 1, 2:00 pm at the Orcas Center.

The Orcas Crossroads Lecture Series is supported by the Crossroads Associates Circle, the Daniel and Margaret Carper Foundation and Individual Contributors. Find more information at the Orcas CrossRoads website: www.orcascrossroads.org