By Annabel Simmons
Records, books, cassettes, DVDs, CDs, sculptures, magazines, photographs, paintings — what is the enduring appeal of these tactile items? Throughout human history, physical media has been used to honor loved ones, tell stories of ancient civilizations, demonstrate political turmoil and capture collective emotional psyches across epochs — giving us a glimpse into the minds and souls of those from the past.
As archaeologists unearth new artifacts every year, from ancient to modern times, the evolution of media becomes evident. With innovations in technology, physical media has gradually declined in relevance. The digital age has revolutionized how we view art, read books, watch films and listen to music. This can all be done from a singular device, anywhere, at any time of day. For many, the convenience that comes with digital media is enticing.
So, why is it still of value to engage with physical media when digital options offer greater practicality?
In many ways, tangibility offers more to the human experience than digital media has the capacity to. Physical media allows us to connect with history, culture, information and people — to experience joy in ways distinct from its tactility.
Throughout Northwest Arkansas, physical media has produced eminent connections within its community. Wade Ogle founded Block Street Records a little over a decade ago in downtown Fayetteville, and four years later, he opened a second store in Bentonville. Those who enter Block Street are met with welcoming faces and lively walls, adorned with new and vintage vinyl, CDs, and more.
“A good record shop is a home to all ages, all tastes, all cultures, while sharing a communal love of music and records,” Ogle said.
Ogle said he believes that physical media holds a unique value that digital streaming services cannot replicate. “Not only actual monetary value but the value of ownership. The buyer/collector is actively engaging with the artists they love,” he explained. He highlights vinyl records as a more immersive way to experience music. “Something you’ve deliberately searched out, purchased and taken the time to absorb will always have more value to you.”
Beyond the music itself, vinyl records also offer a visual and artistic experience through their packaging. Collectors can thoughtfully display their favorite albums, using them to express personal style and identity.
“The 12″x12″ art in the packaging and physically engaging via playing the actual record — it all makes for a great experience,” Ogle said.
Daniel Jordan, along with his wife, Leah, owns Pearl’s Books, an independent bookstore nestled near the square in Fayetteville. Both previously working as academic advisors at the University of Arkansas, opening a bookstore had always been a distant, seemingly unattainable, dream of theirs. However, the pandemic offered them a change in mindset, and Pearl’s was opened in the fall of 2021.
Physical media offers distinctive benefits to artists. With the purchase of physical media, a larger portion of the sales price, compared to digital purchases, goes directly to the artist. Tangible works also cultivate a greater connection between the artist and their creations.
At Pearl’s, the hosting of frequent book launches and signings for local authors and those on tour do just this. “The launching of a book is a really fun thing because for a lot of, especially local, author’s it’s a big deal to have a physical copy of something that they created,” Jordan said. “It’s one thing to put a book into a word processor and put it online, but I think holding it, seeing the cover, and seeing your name in print really means something to authors. It’s a celebration for the author and their accomplishments.”
When designing physical copies of books, there’s also more room for artists to display their creative expression, which can’t be seen in many digital formats. Pearl’s is stocked with many editions of the same books, each copy distinct in its artistic design. “A lot of publishers are coming out with special editions of books with sprayed edges, where the edges of the book are painted or printed differently, and for collectors, that’s pretty cool to be able to have…it’s nice. It feels good,” Jordan said.
For many, the fraying of physical media gives it unique charm. An old book — its once-sturdy leather cover now cracked and worn, its spine loosened with time, its pages yellowed and filled with faint scribbles from past readers — tells a story beyond the one printed inside.
“There’s something special about holding a physical book,” Jordan said. “People tell us that all the time — folks that come into the store. Having the physical object is so different than having an e-reader. Being able to make notes and being able to see the history of a book and how it has traveled through many different hands really adds value to the experience.” The weathering of an old book reveals how it has influenced the lives of many, and there truly is an unparalleled feeling in experiencing a book’s history through its worn pages.
“It’s the way people have been reading for hundreds of years, and that’s an interesting thing too,” Jordan said. “If you are reading a classic book that people have read for centuries, it’s nice to be able to read it in the same kind of way.”
Through digital media, the capacity to record information has increased significantly — high-resolution images and hundreds of books can be stored on simple disks. It is easy to ignore the fragility that comes with technology when so much of our lives depend upon it. A great deal is sacrificed for the dubious benefits of convenient, digital formats; one such sacrifice is certainty surrounding its longevity. Digital media can be removed with the push of a button, leaving users without access to their favorite content. Technical compatibility and having the appropriate software also factor into the accessibility and endurance of digital media.
Jordan notes Amazon Kindle e-books as a primary example of this. “One of the things that Amazon does with their Kindle books is encrypt them so that they can only be read on Kindle readers, and you can’t transfer them to another e-reader or any other apps,” Jordan explained. “If you have the physical book, you can read it anywhere. If for some reason you lose access to your Amazon account, the physical book is still gonna be with you.”
It is significant to note that all media is susceptible to change. This is sometimes beneficial, such as the enhancement of a film’s quality. However, there have also been many political efforts to rewrite history — physically and digitally. Preserving the original mediums of physical prints is extremely valuable, as this sustains authenticity during tumultuous periods.
“The physical book is not gonna change once you have it,” Jordan said. “You know, once you own it, you could change it — you could mark it up. If you’re buying digitally, you have to trust that the publisher isn’t gonna alter it. A tangible book that you own isn’t gonna get lost in a data breach or anything like that. Obviously, there’s risks with fire, or flood, or spilling your coffee on it. But even those little touches — a coffee stain on a book — is cool.” Beyond these uncontrollable factors, the only way to strip people of physical media is to locate it and physically confiscate it.
Many avoid physical media due to its higher cost, but there are plenty of ways to counter this. Dickson Street Bookshop, which opened in Fayetteville in 1978, offers an extensive selection of used and out of print books — all at affordable prices. Buying physical media second hand is a great sustainable and budget-friendly option for consumers. Local libraries and thrift stores also offer this advantage.
One of Dickson Street Bookshop’s employees, Kaitlin Leathers, is a doctoral student at the University of Arkansas, majoring in English with a focus on medieval literature and languages. Leathers often sees the joy that physical media brings to customers. “At the bookstore, we have a number of regulars who come in a few times a week to see what’s new on the shelves,” Leathers said. “When we get new customers, who have never experienced the magic of the bookshop, it’s really a joy to see their faces light up — they really don’t expect the shop to be as large as it is.”.
A truly extraordinary place, Dickson Street Bookshop is often compared to Dr. Who’s TARDIS or the wardrobe in Narnia. For book lovers, it’s a dream come true.
As a medievalist, Leathers frequently handles physical media when studying manuscripts, art and so on. She notes electronic formats as valid ways to consume media but sees the distinct sensation that comes with physical media. “Physical media provides unique sensory experiences,” Leathers said. “When you read a physical book, you’re engaged by turning pages and rewarded by the sight of how much you’ve read — the placement of a bookmark marking your progress.”
Customers of Dickson Street Bookshop also often admire the distinct scent that each individual book offers; through blends of woody, sweet, almond-like aromas, feelings of nostalgia and comfort are evoked.
“With art, you may experience versions of a painting or sculpture in pictures online, but being present in a museum or in front of an ancient monument, facing the work of art at full size and in an atmosphere of reverence is an entirely different experience,” Leathers said. “You might marvel at brush strokes in person, but textures are often lost in digital photos. So, generally, a lot of the sensory experience of physical media is lost in digitized versions.”
Like others, Leathers also maintains that physical ownership of art or books can offer a sense of security and prestige. “To own an original work of art is not quite the same as owning a replication or a digital copy in terms of prestige,” Leathers said. “Owning a first edition of a beloved book — like J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit — would be a symbol of a person’s devotion to that author or title. To have those books or records or other forms of media physically in your home — perhaps on display — shows that you are invested and that you love that particular form of media or that particular artist, and it is a formative part of your life.”
Although the digitization of media has provided fundamental innovation, its transience is apparent. Engagement with tangible mediums — in music, film, literature — enriches one’s experience with the media; it adds an extra layer of enjoyment that the digital world lacks. We must aim to pull physical media from its demise, and in doing so, we will support local businesses and cultivate new communities.