Do you remember the number one fear we had when the Digital Revolution began? I do. When we saw our beloved books, indispensable reference tomes, and vital paper documents migrating to online spaces, we were terrified that the contents would be tampered with (even slightly), and that pretty soon we wouldn’t be able to trust our eyes any more. We were afraid that physical books, libraries and bookstores would vanish. But, according to an official Media Literacy law, new media doesn’t totally replace old media, it just takes its place alongside it.

We Daughters of St. Paul are called to be early adopters of the latest media technologies for the Gospel, and so we are—but always with discernment and serious ethical considerations, of course. I began eagerly using an e-reader as soon as they came out (Amazon’s Kindle in 2007, Kobo in 2010). Books were so cheap! The device was so lightweight and portable! I could carry a mini-library around with me! I could download books at the tap of a finger! I could simply rent digital textbooks for school! Wheee! 

But then the novelty wore off and the downside became apparent. Sometimes one forgets to charge one’s device. Sometimes one’s device is so outdated it requires a new one. Do I really need to carry half of my library with me everywhere? Am I overspending because it’s too darn easy to purchase books? And then there was the problem of my paid-for books disappearing. The long arm of the digiverse was able to wipe my devices clean of any book that they lost the rights to sell, or their contract ran out or some such thing. 

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I began to miss my possessive-obsessive habits with my paper books: underlining, highlighting, dog-earring, sticky-tabbing, bookmarking, note-writing in margins, and most of all, having the exact passages and illustrations of a book seared into my memory because of the non-fluid physicality of the thing. I would remember that what I was looking for was about halfway through the book, on the left side at the bottom of the page. (I know, I know, there’s nothing like doing a computer-driven word search.) 

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My e-book page numbers would keep changing based on type size, font, device, etc., making the words, thoughts, sentiments, concepts and facts seem almost ephemeral, not to mention that fact that they literally did evaporate when I powered down. I have stopped using e-books altogether and switched back to physical books, specifically used books (which rival e-book prices).

Should we still be worried that physical books may eventually go the way of the Dodo? Yes. But maybe for a different reason. A faithful Catholic Register reader recently contacted me to inform me that the Mississauga Library System did a massive culling of books. So massive was the number of books sent to the city dump that extra staff had to be hired. (How about a book sale or giveaway instead?) 

I understand that libraries must weed through the books occasionally, but the problem here is that the target books for discard were those published before 2008! Mississauga is not alone. A U.S. priest friend told me a similar horror story. He used to frequent a venerable library establishment that had a large, excellent history section. When the library opened up again after the Covid lockdowns, the history section (and other sections) had been gutted beyond recognition. In their place (including in the children’s section) was a plethora of “woke”-only materials. What’s going on? Who’s trying to erase history and why? People today are talking a lot about Orwell’s “1984” as they look around, but let’s not forget Bradbury’s “Farenheit 451,” the epic futuristic tale of wholesale book burnings to keep the population ignorant and gawking only at screens.

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The aforementioned CR reader had a suggestion that I back wholeheartedly: Each of us should start squirreling away books like the Irish monks who preserved civilization. He called books “repositories of truth” in a new era where AI is going to make it impossible to “know what’s true or not.” Don’t have shelf space? Just store books in boxes in your garage or basement.

Where can you find used books worth saving? There are many fine websites dedicated to used books. Try Kijiji (sometimes relatives are giving away a deceased booklover’s entire collection). Ingratiate yourself with family and friends who have overflowing bookshelves and ask if they really need ALL those volumes? Become a book mooch or…visit the Mississauga city dump.