As I was searching our bookshelves for a particular quote I wanted to reference this morning, I thought again about books as objects/artefacts. Yes, I am old enough that I completed both my master’s and PhD before the advent of AI, and while I used online sources, I relied heavily on books.
I remembered the substance of the quote and the author, and I was able to locate the book fairly quickly from our very large, unorganised (and somewhat out of control) book collection. Why was I able to access the book so quickly? Because I remembered the book as an object: its size, the colour of its spine, and the cover. A skill that was likely fundamental to the research I was engaged in.
When completing my masters, referencing was done manually, and you learned your lesson very quickly if you did not make note mentally or physically of an important source. This made me think of the connection formed with a book as a physical object that is handled, paged through, post-it filled, marked, and notated. Books that hang around the house, lying open at pertinent pages. Books that are packed in bags and carried around. That are lived with. That are valued as artefacts.
If I used online articles, I was in the habit of printing them and filing them away with the reference carefully documented on the front page. These were also the days when we printed our own texts, particularly when tackling something with chapters, and took to the pages with scissors and tape to reorganise, restructure, and physically address flow and consistency. It all seems a bit strange now — so what, if anything, have we lost when books or articles are read on screens exclusively? Would I have remembered both the author and the content of the quote if it was not tied to the physical experience of handling, paging through, and living with the book?
We often have a young visitor who enjoys perusing our diverse and chaotic collection. Piled on every surface and overflowing from numerous bookshelves (yes, including the garage). Her selections always surprise me but of course I understand that she is selecting piles of books based on their appeal as objects: the size, the colour, the title, the cover, and the illustrations inside.
The physical act of searching and making choices is an embodied experience. Where, when, and how you choose to cosy up with a book all contribute to how we retain what we read. Whether the book is read aloud or consumed in silence. With or without juice, a cup of tea, or snack. The experience of the book is embedded in the physical acts before, during, and after reading.
Do we still need or want to remember in times when we can simply Google or Chat locate a new reference via our screens at any time? What do you think we stand to lose when the experience of books is no longer embodied?
