The Book Transformations in the Context of Media Revolutions

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of book transformation as one of the oldest and the most influential types of media in the historical context of media revolutions. It characterizes the main attributes of media, underlining common features of the book and other types of media. The article explores the evolution and specific changes of oral, written and electronic information carriers and other types of media in the context of time and space. It analyses historical conditions and the modern tendency to reproduce a book in audio and electronic formats. The article also claims that such transformations make a significant impact on the classical relationship between all participants and stakeholders in book creation, production, distribution and usage. The authors emphasize the importance and further impact of large-scale changes in the nature of book in the context of media revolutions. The history of humankind has undergone four media revolutions. At present one can observe transforming the world and domestic book markets: new market segments are being formed and continue to develop. The most important trend is the transformation of the book as medium and the appearance of its new features and communication opportunities. The article considers the processes of mediatization that transform mental landmarks of contemporaries, and form new skills and techniques that are essential in modern communication. Mutual influence and modification of information channels and message itself, lead to the modification the perception of texts. All these processes require the development of new media authors’, text creators’, publishers’, editors’, readers/users’, media consumers’ competences, and ultimately change communication abilities and the priorities of all media consumers. The authors underline the necessity to create and use a new transdisciplinary medialogical approach to book research and its industry in space-time context.