From Hard Copy to Electronic [President's Message]

Recently, I pondered the following question: Is the future of books to be fully electronic, as many of us believe, or is the answer not so simple? This editorial will try to address this question and analyze its impact on the publications of the IEEE Control Systems Society (CSS). A book published last year and coauthored by Jean-Claude Carrière and Umberto Eco (the author of the best seller The Name of the Rose) makes an attempt to answer this question from a philosopher's perspective. The book is available in French and in Italian, and its title can be freely translated as Don't Even Think to Get Rid of the Books The point made by the authors seems clear: “The book is like the spoon, the hammer, the wheel, and the scissors—once invented, they cannot be improved upon.” However, what do we mean by a book? Are we referring to a book as a set of words or to its physical support, which may be in paper or in electronic form?