Page 105 - AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report

historic moments that marked the development of the book sector and of ways and methods
of reading over time. We might even speak of a permanent state of change in forms of reading, which have undergone considerable variations from group reading and reading aloud to individ- ual and silent reading. A string of major changes has also taken place in both the production and publication of reading materials and, accordingly, in their scope and reach: from clay tablets to papyrus and parchment, and from manuscript to printing press.
These transitions triggered a steady increase in readership and a shift from the idea of reading as the preserve of a privileged few to its spread to new readers as a result of nineteenth-century public reading policies and the growth of com- munities of readers over the course of the past century.
Today reading is undergoing another major transformation comparable to the previous milestones. The difference between the present moment and past developments is that the current change in the world of books and reading is much deeper and is taking place much more quickly. The disruptive power of technol- ogy and the introduction of digital reading make this process of change somewhat more frenzied and intense than the slower and more gradual progress witnessed in other periods.
Digital reading developed from reading on paper and is coming into its own as part of a process marked by continuity and rupture. Based on the previous culture of paper books, new types of digital reading emerged, initially more closely related to printed books and subsequently en- hanced with complementary features, followed by new ways of telling stories and transmitting knowledge that are fully immersed in the digital medium.
Digital reading is thus similar to reading on paper in some aspects but not in others. Whether we are dealing with a print or a digital book, an app,
a blog or a website, there is always someone who seeks pleasure, entertainment, questions or answers: the reader. Therefore, there is no point in continuing to view the future of reading as a constant struggle between the various media.
It is necessary to look beneath the surface and analyse more deeply the changes that are taking place in ways and methods of reading and seek resources and formulas for helping digital readers to grow.
The solution consists in showing greater interest in learning about changes and in establishing links between the past and present in order to understand, and be better prepared to explore, new avenues. This is the approach adopted by the Focus section of the AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report 2018, which is centred precisely on explaining and reflecting on the changes reading and readers are experiencing, with the ultimate aim of understanding them better so as to continue to blaze new trails in the future.
To chart the situation of digital reading, we will take a look at five aspects which, surveyed as a whole, provide an overview of the state of play:
• We will begin by examining the concept
of reading in the light of the changes
that have taken place in a hybrid territory
in which paper and the screen engage in dialogue and are mutually enriching. We
are referring to reading across a broad spectrum ranging from fiction to knowledge and in a context of multiple literacy that encompasses updated traditional reading and writing skills and the new skills required by the digital environment.
• The second and essential piece of this jigsaw puzzle is twenty-first-century readers. We examine their interests, skills and abilities in all their states and stages of development, from children and teenagers to adults; individual readers and commu- nities who move and grow in pace with technological evolution, the digital offering
AC/E DIGITAL CULTURE ANNUAL REPORT 2018
105
Readers in the digital age