On Computer Books at Barnes and Noble…

I’m old enough to remember when the technology book section at Barnes and Noble was almost overwhelming. It was both sides of a long aisle, just teeming with books. For a while, it would even spill over to another aisle.

The other day, I took a picture of what’s left. At my local Barnes and Noble, it’s down to one section, literally in the very back corner of the store, sharing some space with box storage.

Digital content mostly killed it, of course. Any instruction about technology is far more likely to be digital than printed today.

Also, technology has dispersed outwards. Whereas books on “digital photography” used to be in the technology section, now that’s mostly the only type of photography, so they moved over to that section. Technology and the Internet has infiltrated our lives to the point where “non digital photography” is an alien concept to most people, and every subject just treats technology as a background, enabling concept.

What I really used to love about the book aisle is that it was a handy way to know what was coming. I’m old enough that I watched Ruby and Python books slowly creep onto shelves and “assume critical mass.” I would find a new book about something I hadn’t heard of, and I would mentally note that it was lurking out there somewhere. I would browse these books as a way to figure out what trends were developing.

(I use the Manning emails for that now. I subscribed to Manning’s email list, and the “New Releases” email kind of plays the “what’s coming” role for me now.)

I miss the technology book section. Clearly, it’s a relic of the past, but I spent some great times there.