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March 15, 2023 | Brussels, Belgium

“Books as drivers of Europe’s knowledge economy,” position paper by CEPI

The pandemic has demonstrated to all of us the power of digital technologies to help us work, learn and even socialise. Working from home, remote learning and online communities kept our economies moving, delivered knowledge to our children and helped us stay connected with our loved ones despite physical isolation. And perhaps less noticeably, but no less significantly, the pandemic also taught us another valuable lesson: the enduring value of printed books in transmitting knowledge, entertaining us and supporting equality of access to information.

A growing body of research, which came to the fore at the same time as Covid19 was changing the way we work, learn and play, shows us the benefits of print over digital media for certain forms of knowledge acquisition. While further studies will no doubt buttress our knowledge in this area, it is clear already today that we must include printed books as part of a balanced information diet – both in our children’s schools and in our own lifelong

learning efforts.

No less importantly, printed books play a powerful role in fighting digital exclusion. In recent years European societies have come to appreciate how print can level the playing field for those who are less online, for a wide variety of reasons including age and income. Physical bookshops and libraries are important centres of culture in local communities around the world, offering intellectual stimulation and opportunities for local residents to come together and engage in the life of the mind.

Finally, printed books play an important role in the economy, in particular the circular economy: in Europe they are produced from sustainable resources and are fully recyclable. The book value chain provides employment to people of all skill levels across our continent.

To read or download complete report Go To:

https://www.cepi.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2023-03-Books-Driver-of-Knowledge.pdf (Source: CEPI press release)

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