The panel discussion on “The Future of the Book” was designed as the finale event for Edinburgh’s Festival of Libraries 2008. The topic was thought to be very timely with the launch of e-book readers in the UK as well as offering an opportunity to highlight some of the key issues affecting libraries and other information providers. The high-quality panel presented a wide range of views and laid out an array of interesting issues. The discussion proved very lively, the only drawback being the lack of time. As this is a very relevant topic of discussion for our times, the panel members have been invited to put some of their thoughts down in written form. We are also working on presenting the discussion as a podcast and we are proposing that all the material is presented in one place for future discussion and thought.

In the interim, some of the written comments from panel members are available. Please find these written comments on the page Future of the Book in the menu to the right. We invite you to continue the debate by posting a comment.