Borders | Robin DeJarnett

Image by brewbooks via Flickr

As the publishing industry continues to evolve, authors, publishers, and even readers are running to keep up. Small bookstores are struggling to stay in existence…but the threat isn’t the big chains any more, it’s the eBook. Even big chains like Borders are contemplating bankruptcy in light of the eBook craze (yup, Borders is in big trouble). I still maintain paper and print books are not going to disappear, but seeing a company as large as Borders unable to pay for the books it’s selling isn’t helping my case.

Barnes & Noble seems to be surviving okay, so there will be at least one bookstore still alive to go and browse, but if you don’t have a B&N near you, the already gigantic Amazon may be your only choice for hard copy books. Or the library. In some ways it’s like we’re taking big steps backwards…going back to the time when books were rare and chained in libraries. I know, there won’t be chains, but can you imagine if the only place you can go to get a hard cover book is the library?

Now, I don’t think I’m a luddite – I realize that the information in books is more available now than it’s ever been. I own and love my Kindle, and buy fewer and fewer hard copy books. Various eReaders, now including the Kindle, even allow users to loan out their eBooks. But now I’m left with the question at the top of this post – how do you autograph a Kindle?

So much for my tongue-in-cheek post!

I do have a temporary solution that I’m trying. I’m giving out book bling – a ribbon with some sparkly beads and a charm on it – that can be looped over a Kindle, Nook, or iPad cover and has a tag that can be signed. But if you don’t have a cover for your eReader, I’m not sure what else to do. By the way – being asked for an autograph, whether it’s for a book or a bookmark – is a total rush! I just wish my handwriting was neater!

Image via Wikipedia

But the question remains…and I put it to you. Are autographs a thing of the past, or will autographing something else suffice? Will old-fashioned autograph books become popular once again (now that’d be ironic!) or will you, the reader, be satisfied with an electronic scrawl in an iPad app? What would you like?