The next chapter for books at USC

Technology is shaping the way we work, think and live. It’s also shaping the way universities operate. USC encourages students to focus on technology and the evolution of digital media.

Technology is shaping the way we work, think and live. It’s also shaping the way universities operate. USC encourages students to focus on technology and the evolution of digital media.

Nevertheless, the Daily Trojan has found that books still serve as important tools on and off campus. It’s important to remember that, before Google existed, the book was the primary medium that made learning possible. Moreover, the printed word remains one of the most authoritative source of information in the modern world.

As a testament to the legacy of the printed word, USC is hosting the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. The acquisition of an event of this caliber represents our university’s best qualities: the free exchange of ideas, the search for knowledge, the coming together of like-minded individuals and the bettering of oneself.

As such, serving as host symbolizes both the university’s past and its progress as an intellectual powerhouse.

Though USC is a cutting-edge university that takes advantage of technology — including e-readers and iPads — the Daily Trojan has found that most students continue to enjoy the tangible experience of print books.

In addition, the festival offers the university an opportunity to showcase its faculty members, including festival panelists Aimee Bender and T.C. Boyle.

USC’s collaboration with the Los Angeles Times also brings celebrity-authors Betty White, Bethenny Frankel and Tori Spelling to campus, which in turn brings more visitors. As a result, we are able to use books to highlight the allure of USC.

But the festival is about more than books as a medium, or about the university’s move up the ladder of success. The university is invested in the conversations happening beyond its immediate community.

Though books aren’t exactly glamorous, they still have the ability to bring more than 140,000 people together to gain knowledge and share the ideas that inspire them. The fact that this university is able to bring so many people together is an honor — but it’s also representative of our school’s far-reaching responsibilities.