“I know I’m a little old; but I’m not dead,” said the book. The book lived in The Johnston Central Library in Cavan town. The librarians looked after him well, they wrapped a plastic cover around his body to prolong his life for all the avid readers who loved him.
Once upon a time he was being borrowed constantly; as a Crime-Thriller he was in demand. Now, he was spending more time on the shelf, waiting. He noticed the shelf opposite on which the beautiful women lived, The Romance Novels, they were still being borrowed, but less so.
At night when the library was without humans, the Crime Thriller spoke to the Romantic Novel, “Are we dying?” he asked, with an ache in his pages. She was sure in her response, “Absolutely not! People will always read books, to touch us and smell us.” The Crime Thriller sighed, “Then why am I being borrowed less?” She paused reflectively, before replying, “People love stories, but now they have more ways in which to read them. Some people prefer to listen to us as an audio-book, and others would rather read us digitally from their devices; that’s why Borrow Box in this library is such a success.” She ruffled her pages softly to make the sound that always reassured the Crime Thriller, “There’s still a place for us,” she said, wistfully.
If physical books could talk, I imagine them having a conversation like the above. As a writer, I’m hyper aware of how reading habits are changing. Digital reading platforms are rising, rapidly. Amongst the younger demographic the ‘Web-Novel’ is increasing in popularity. Personally, I have accrued a considerable readership on the digital platform Wattpad (six + million). My experience shows, that moving forward, writers must engage with digital in order to find readers and connect.
Cavan Connects is an initiative to facilitate people’s engagement with all things digital. ‘Cavan Creatives’ proposal would be to fit within this platform. Initially as a portal on which Cavan writers can publish their work. Eventually, it would have an interactive element wherein readers could engage with the author to create an immersive reader/writer experience.
As humans, we communicate via stories, every conversation we have is a story that connects us. Moreover, with the growing prevalence of AI, I believe the human-generated-story will gather greater power. ‘Cavan Creatives’ will aim to harness this storytelling prowess to show Cavan as a future forward digital champion in the realm of digital publishing.
It’s not, “Goodbye, Books.” It’s dive into the digital writer/reader experience with Cavan Creatives on Cavan Connects.
By Gerard Smith
.jpg)
